


Time heals all

by Chloe_the_Cactus



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Feelings, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Spoilers, Fluff, Graphic Description, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Mental Health Issues, Original Character(s), Orphanage, Orphans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Original Female Character, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Time Skip, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rebuilding, Slow Burn, Swordfighting, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:29:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21662212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe_the_Cactus/pseuds/Chloe_the_Cactus
Summary: No matter how long it takes, no matter how old they become. She will wait, for him
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Original Character(s), Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Original Female Character(s), Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Reader
Kudos: 43





	1. War

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm mainly just testing the waters with this to gather peoples reactions and thoughts
> 
> I have an idea of where I want this story to go but I will only keep writing if people want the story to progress
> 
> To conclude: I love Dimitri

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All was quiet but then one day a lions roar was heard

No matter how hard she tried the stench of war would never wash out of the dirty linens and clothing that Violet had to wash on a daily basis - this war had lasted for five years now, fives years and yet the fighting continues.

How much she prayed to the Goddess that the war would end soon, that the death would stop, the blood stop spilling and the cries from soldiers would stop.

Sat on her knees in the mud, Violet dunked each item of fabric into the water bucket whilst scrubbing at stains from top to bottom with her poor excuse of a brush which was on the brink of shattering into pieces with the amount of times it had been dropped, thrown and pulled by small hands. She needed to get this done soon or the clothes and blankets wouldn’t have enough time to dry with the remaining hours of sunlight that shone upon them, Violet scrubbed violently on a much larger and more sticky stain which had a putrid smell making Violet gag and curse to herself when she was forced to touch the fabric to make sure it hadn't begun to rip and pull the threads of cotton apart creating holes in the clothing “Giving them noa fruit as a small lunchtime snack was a bad idea” she thought to herself finally getting the remnants of the fruit out of the stain on the sleeve.

Dropping the small shirt back into the water bucket, Violet removed her hands from the now cold, soapy water and rubbed them dry on her ripped, old apron and rested her hands on her lap - her hands had blotches of red marks on them from where she had been scrubbing with too much force with her fingers occasionally hitting the side of the wooden brush, paying no mind to the little stings of pain that would throb from her fingertips. Taking a deep breathe she wiped her hands over her face, rubbing her eyes to remove the little sleep she had managed to get in the previous night from being awoken by the noises of those that lurk in the dark, using her arm to wipe the sweat from her brow and her remaining hand to remove the pieces of her hair that had stuck onto her lower jaw and neck. 

Placing her hands over her eyes once more she leaned down, resting her elbows on her lap as support she attempted to calm her mind of the rush of thoughts that were constantly running through her consciousness on a daily basis; food, water, clean clothes, a warm bed, healing ailments and money where just some of the words that bounced around her head when she was trying to work, sleep or even just relax.

This war had been so tiring on so many, so much death and destruction - Violet on some days began to question her own beliefs by how many nights she has prayed to the Goddess literally begging her to stop this war. Villages that she remembers being told in old tales now left as nothing but rubble with blood stained along the ground and walls, the grass dead and swamped with dry mud. Violet at least thanked the goddess for the safe haven she’s been living in now for the past few months, a village with no name but it's better than nothing she always told herself smiling to herself, remembering the day she found this place and nearly falling to her knees in joy after walking for days with the items she had managed to save from her home.

“Miss Violet” a quiet voice squeaked bringing Violet back to her senses, glancing over her shoulder to see who had called her

“Oh hello little dove, are you okay whats wrong?” she asked softly to the little girl behind her; her dove, little Iris stood patiently still with her little arms crossed trying to keep the cold away from her skin

“Is it time for lunch soon? We’re all hungry” she frowned has she walked over to Violet and wrapped her arms around her shoulders in an embrace, humming in approval when she felt the warm touch of Violet’s had on her back rubbing small circles to transfer heat to the young child

“Soon little one” she cooed as she removed herself from the hug with Iris “I’m just finishing this washing and then I’ll be walking back home once I’ve emptied the bucket, why don't you go back and play with the others?” Violet questioned as she readied the final blanket to be washed in the basin, glancing at Iris concerned when she pouted at her question. Moving her hand to lightly hold Iris’ tiny one, rubbing her thumb on the small girls palm “Dove what’s wrong?”

“The others are annoying!” she raised her voice, stomping her foot in unison with each word making small specs of dry mud be kicked onto her shoes, her cheeks going red with anger as she snatched her hand away from Violet’s “They won't share the pencils when I wanna draw, they won't stop shouting when I’m trying to read and WORST of all I don’t like them and they don’t like me!” she huffed as she folded her arms trying her best to look grown-up to her guardian, which wasn’t working, as Violet just sat and watched her little tantrum

“Are you finished?” she asked Iris which made the young girl turn back towards her in surprise 

“B-but” the young girl whimpered 

“No buts!” Violet interrupted her, crawling on her knees through the mud to sit in front of Iris “I know it’s hard but I need you all to get along okay? What would your mummy and daddy think hmm?” she said softly as she placed her hands on the girls cheeks “Everything's gonna be fine okay, I promise,” she smiled watching her little doves eyes light up “No go on, walk back home and I’ll be back in a bit okay?” she said making sure Iris would do as she’s told

“Okay Violet” Iris replied as she crashed into Violet to give her a quick embrace before turning on her heels and skipping back down the path

“And make sure you stick to the path okay! No wandering off like last week” Violet shouted towards her, giving a small smile when Iris turned around and gave her a thumbs up to show she had heard what she had said. Quietly chuckling to herself Violet turned back towards the water bucket and began to wash the last blanket

Which funnily enough, belonged to Iris.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the metal bucket held securely under her arm Violet began to walk back home, well it wasn't really her ‘home’ it was where she was staying until for the time being, Walking along the path following the instructions she had given to Iris half an hour prior Violet paced along the dirt path leaving small cloud of dust in her steps as she put more weight on each foot which each step she took.

Everyday Violet awoke she was surprised this village was still standing, never mind running at a somewhat normal pace. The buildings were in disarray with parts of the roofs and walls hanging by threads of wood chippings and old clay strands with some houses have their doors taken clean off with the gusts of winds that graced the landscape in the colder evenings. The village was small and peaceful, a blessing for those like Violet who preferred a more quiet and slow paced lifestyle - not many markets but enough to be able to buy everyone's essential needs like food, fruit, bread, seeds and the occasional fabric and drawing and colouring materials if you were lucky.

But of course, the lands were at war - slowly as time went one it was becoming more difficult to buy everything that Violet needed with the rising prices not helping with the limited funds she had and what she had been able to scrape together from doing small jobs for some of the older town residents that refused to leave their homes despite the threat of the Empire invading any day. Violet tried to ignore the whispers of the imperial forces slowly claiming new land over Fodlan, she needed to stay calm and keep organised.

After walking that felt like days, Violet finally made it home to her house,

Well it wasn’t really a ‘house’ it was more of a shack but it had a roof and somewhere to sleep so Violet was grateful that she had stumbled across this blessing.

Walking over to her hand made washing line, she carefully hung the items of clothing and blankets she had been washing all morning which consisted of mainly shirts, trousers, socks, blankets and a teddy bear? When did that get there. Using rope and wooden sticks she had carved one evening she clipped each item to the washing line, tying it securely to make sure there wouldn't be a situation of someone's pants being lost.

Taking a step back and admiring her handy work, smiling to herself Violet untied her apron from her waist and placed it to the side and bent down to wipe the metal bucket dry and remove all of the remnants of soap from the inner corners, using a piece of rag to dry her hands once she was finished.

Picking up her apron once more; Violet placed it in a box to keep it dry for when she would need to use it again, which would probably be sooner rather than later she chuckled to herself as she pushed the metal bucket to the side and under a tarp she had made from sewing together old pieces of cloth that had been thrown away (after washing them of course).

Walking towards the old, worn wooden door Violet knocked gently and pushed the door open

“I’m home!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The familiar sound was little footsteps running made Violet smile as she closed the door behind her, only to turn around and get tackled by a number of small pairs of arms making her laugh at the sheer force. Little cheers were made as each of them tried to give Violet a hug at the same time

“Hello little ones” she giggled as she looked down to the ones that had given her such a warm welcome home after being gone for a few hours, this group of 6 children were the reason Violet got out of bed in the morning, 6 children that lost everything from the constant fighting and bloodshed, the 6 children that gave Violet a dream, a passion and a reason to keep moving forward no matter what life throws at them.

“Violet Violet!” Elijah, one of the older boys called to her whilst bouncing up and down flailing his arms around in excitement “is it food time now?” he asked constantly causing the other children to join in with his questions 

“Hey hey now come on settle down” Violet said in a strong tone, the many voices at once making it difficult for Violet to process the situation clearly “Yes it is” she replied making the children gasp and squeal in delight “But!” she continued leaving the children in a stunned silence waiting for her to continue “I need you all to work together and set the table” she said causing the group of children to all groan in annoyance in unison at her recent comment causing Violet to tsk under her breath “Come on, we all need to do our part in this house” she finished as she brushed passed the group of youngsters over to the counter, turning around to face them all “Now then, who’s doing what?”

Giving each child a small job and giving them each a small pat on the head everyone got to work with getting everything ready for their meal; Iris and Elijah set the table; Cora, Rose and Harry cleaned the areas around the house where all the children had been playing before Violets return; and Henry helped get the fruit and vegetables Violet needed to make the children's meal with, a simple sandwich with vegetables and fruit on the side.

Thanking the children for their help Violet got to work making each child their own sandwich, calling them all to her side one at a time to ask them what they wanted in their sandwich, if they wanted the crust and which vegetables they would like to have. Violet always found this much easier to ask them all individually what they would like considering some of the children were notorious at being VERY picky eaters, especially Rose who always had to have her sandwiches cut in a certain way as she was convinced that sandwich cut in the shapes of triangles tasted better than sandwiches in the shapes of squares - some of the stuff Violet who be requested by Rose boggled her mind but she simply smiled and gave her what she wanted, Rose was a sweet young girl with a heart of golf and would always make sure all the children were okay with the game they were playing and if anyone else wanted to join in.

Placing each plate in everyone's spot at the table, filling up their small glasses with water Violet called the children over to the table and let them began eating. The children happily sat and talked to each other while munching away at their food, the distinct crunch of vegetables that Violet always gave herself a high five in her mind knowing that they were all eating them considering vegetables was something that would causes tantrums a few months back. Violet leaned against the counter and observed them eating smiling softly as they all kept eating.

“Miss Violet?” a small voice spoke dragging Violet from a daze, glancing over to Henry who was sat at the far end of the table “Are you not eating anything?” he asked her which caused all the children to stop eating and look in her direction, causes her sweat

“I’m eating later sweetheart, don’t worry” she lied - she always made sure there was enough food for the children, they came first and her second. Glancing over to the empty box which should have bread inside.

“Violet, can I have some juice please?” Cora asked politely with a small holding out her cup to Violet

“Of course love” she smiled taking the cup from Cora and walking over to the shelf where the juice was, it was empty, again. Trying to appear more concerned to the children Violet pretended to search for the phantom juice bottle, Violet didn't have enough money to buy the fruit she used to make the juice they all like and didn't have the heart to admit it to the youngsters since she knows they would become upset which would break her heart “Ahh oh no, looks like we’re all out” she said with a straight face “I’ll get some tomorrow don’t worry” she said as she handed Coras’ cup back filled with water.

An awkward silence filled the room as the children each began to finish their meals, leaving their plates on the side by the sink next to Violet. Violet was trying her best to look happy for the children but some days it was difficult with such a dia state they were all in - she knew she didn’t have the supplies to be able to last all the way through winter and she didn't want to have to pack up what little they all had and move again, especially when they all seemed settled in this new environment. Turning away from the children’s happy, beaming faces Violet began to wash the dishes and utensils used for their meal “Come on don’t cry, stay strong,” she said to herself as she tried to focus on cleaning the plates without dropping one and bursting into tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet awoke with a gasp from her unplanned afternoon nap to the sound of shouting from outside, Iris was sat on her knee snuggling into her arms having no clue to what had scared Violet “Violet whats wrong?” she asked, her voice still riddled with sleep as Violet moved and placed Iris on the seat and moved to look out the window.

“Oh no” she said quietly, 

they were here, 

the empire had found them, 

not again, 

not again.

Violets mind completely went blank as she watched the imperial soldiers tear down the doors from each house and dragging out any residents that were inside, shouting at them menacingly making sure they would comply with Emperors Edelgards orders.

“Get lost!” one of the residents said in defiance as they began to try and stand up and break free from the soldiers grasp, without even batting an eyelash the soldier took their lance and stabbed it straight through the residents gut causing blood to pain the ground and pieces of flesh to stick onto the lance.

Violet whimpered and ran away from the window in shock for what she had just seen, causing all the children to look at her when she causes the table scrape against the floor, her breathing was erratic, she needed to stay calm, think Violet think!

She felt a tug on the end of her top “Violet what’s wrong?” Harry asked her causing Violet to look down to the young boy

“It’s nothing don’t worr-” she started

“This is by order of the Empire” a loud, deep and official voice boomed from outside causing Violet to stop talking and clutch the young boy closer to her

The children began to whimper and cry at the scary, unknown voice they had just heard. Their parents had warned them of the empire, what they had done and what they're planning to do under Edelgards rule - words of wisdom from their parents they would never forget before losing sight of their parents in the chaos back home, having no idea if they were alive or dead.

“Why is the empire here?” Elijah asked

“I’m scared” Henry exclaimed 

“Are we gonna die?” Rose sobbed 

Violet didn’t know what to do, she wouldn't let them die here. No she won't let them die here. She’s worked too hard to get this far, to keep them warm, fed, sheltered and happy to just surrender now.

Violet quickly jumped into action, running over to the front door and locking it securely

“I need you all to run and hide in the back room okay?” she ordered making sure she had all of the children's attention “No matter what you hear, you don’t move and stay quiet understand?” she continued running around the small space moving objects to make sure the children wouldn’t fall over.

“Quickly now, move!” she whispered as she ushered them all into the room, ignoring all of the confused mumbles each child made as Violet nudged them into the room, looking over her shoulder constantly making sure none of the imperial soldiers had got closer to their home

“What about you Violet” Iris cried looking at the older girl in concern

“Don’t worry I’ll be fine okay? You need to be safe first” she replied, trying to soothe her worries as she gently pushed her into the room and closing the door behind her “Remember what I said and don’t move okay” she commanded as she proceeded to lock the door as securely as possible with the limited amount of items she had at her disposal.

Checking the door was locked Violet turned her attention to a crate that was covered in dust at the corner of the room and rushed over to try and move it to barricade the door shut when suddenly the front door burst open, causing Violet to scream in fright and crouch to the ground out of harm's way, bits of wood littered the ground from where the door has been kicked open and the sound of heavy metal boots filled the small room

“There’s one here!” the soldier shouted, charging over to Violet and grabbing her forcefully and dragging her by the arm and pulling her to her feet and began to push her outside. Violet easily complied with the soldiers orders, not wanting to end up like the previous person that tried to go against the empire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After being led outside, the soldier pushed Violet to the ground violently making sure his comrades could see his find in the last house of the village. Violet pushed herself up from her forearms and looked at the village around her through the strands of hair that covered her face.

Destruction 

The village was completely destroyed, the house in tatters, bits of wood and brick laid on the ground in disarray, splatters of blood painted the ground and rocks. Violet struggled to breathe, fear completely overtaking her making it difficult for her lungs to take in large amounts of oxygen

“Listen here you” the soldier boomed to Violet who was laid on the ground like the prey she was seen as to the empire “Your gonna be a good girl and do as we say understand? Edelgards orders” he continued stabbing his spear near Violets lower back

“And what if I refuse?” she said back in a somewhat defiant tone to the soldier

The soldier laughed maniacally turning his head away from Violet before turning back and kicking her in the back with full force, his iron boots and metal leg guards making imprints on her back causing Violet to scream in response and choke on her own saliva in agony

“Leave her alone!” a tiny voice shouted causing Violet to look up and back towards the house - it was Iris running towards the soldier, she must have seen him kick Violet, she didn’t do as she was told, same old Iris

“Awhh who’s this little chick then?” the soldier taunted walking slowly towards the little girl running at him and coming to a halt

“You can’t do that!” Iris demanded, stomping her foot in anger “That’s mean!” she continued

“Iris get back inside now” Violet whined, trying to get her breath back

“Sorry love, your both coming with me,” the soldier said as he grabbed Iris by the arm causing her to squirm

“Let her go!” Violet pleaded with him has he tried to keep Iris in his grasp

Iris continued to struggle with the man before grabbing his hand and biting one of his fingers, causing him the yelp and howl like a wolf making the soldier let go of the young child and look at the fingers she had bitten. They were bleeding, the soldier was furious, eyes filled with pure rage

“YOU LITTLE RAT, I’LL KILL YA!” the soldier boomed as her took the wooden handle of his lance and smacked it over Iris’ head causing her to drop to the group instantly and stop moving

“Iris!” Violet screamed as she saw blood pour from the young girls head, her hair being stained by her own blood

“YOU BASTARD!” Violet screamed as she jumped to her feet and pushed the soldier to the side and tried to run towards the young girl to protect her, a hand grabbed onto her hair forcefully and pulled her backwards while a strong knee kicked her violently in her back again causes her to lose her breath and stagger. The lance was used to beat her to the ground, beating her from different angles to different points on her body with the main hits being to her arms and head.

Violet could feel her skin pierce open with each swat of the soldiers weapon, blood beginning to trickle out of each new wound that was created. Trying to hold her arms up to protect herself the soldier, this monster, kicked her repeatedly in the stomach with Violet’s yelps of pain fuelling him more to keep attacking her until she was dead and lying in a pool of her own blood

Kick, after kick and after kick Violet cried and screamed in agony whilst silently praying to the goddess to take her life and protect the children. She didn’t want them to die, they had so much to look forward to in life and she wanted to help them carve a way to their future goals and paths

Suddenly, the kicking stopped - Violet laid their dazed on the ground, her vision fading, using her ears to try and interpret what was happening in her current state

“SIR” one voice shouted

“LOOK IT’S THEM” another voice boomed 

“THE DOGS FROM THE KINGDOM, KILL THEM NOW!” an authoritative voice shouted as the vibrations of the soldiers running travelled to Violet’s hand. She couldn’t move, she was battered and bruised beyond belief - she looked back to the house and saw some of the children has emerged from their hiding place and where looking at both her and Iris crying, lines of salty tears and snot marking their faces

Iris still didn’t move

Loud sounds of shouting and clashing of weapons clouded Violet’s ears as she looked over to where the soldiers had ran off to

They were all fighting an unknown enemy, enemy? Or was is their saviour Violet questioned as she began to slowly lose consciousness 

From what her fading vision could see, the new group of fighters where winning

A mix of colours but one colour stood out the most

Blue.


	2. A fresh start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet awakens after the events back home and meets some unique faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys - here's chapter 2, I hope you enjoy :)

All was quiet

Violet laid there peacefully on the ground, the grass cushioning her body and head

The birds sang a sweet little melody as Violet began to slowly open her eyes

She looked up into the sky, its was crystal clear with remnants of fluffy clouds slowly floating across the sky. A beautiful shade of blue filled Violet’s vision as she regained consciousness, dazed and confused she sat up slowly using her hands to support her weight as she pushed herself up from the ground

“Where was she? Where was everyone? Am i dead?” She thought as she looked around and took in her immediate surroundings - There was no village, no war, no dead soldiers and no toxic smell of smoke and blood. 

A vast green field surrounded her, a gentle breeze making the grass dance and her hair waft in unison. It was beautiful - a sight that she had longed to see, a sight that she dreamed that she could bring back for the young minds she had nurtured these past tough months. Violet looked down towards her feet and legs, her injuries where gone, she felt no pain from where that imperial rat had battered and bruised her beyond recognition a few moments ago. Her arms where unscathed, face beaming apart from the smudges of dirt from her work in the morning

She was okay

She was safe

Rising to her feet she wobbled from left to right, trying to regain her balance after being sat for a long time, for how long exactly she wouldn't know, she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Fodlan in its former beauty, its former glory to what she missed everyday from when the war started, the war that took so many, hurt so many, the war that tore so many people apart.

A single apple tree stood in the distance its leaves bright green, full of life and energy with its apples glistening a deep red with the suns rays casting over them ever so slightly. A single branch, a much smaller branch stuck out to its side and beard no fruit but just a single leaf at the end and under that branch stood a person

A young person

A little girl

A girl that Violet instantly recognised 

“I-Iris?” she said, her voice cracking out of sheer disbelief. Without even realising Violet started running, she had to run, she needed to get to Iris, to tell her she was safe, to make sure she was okay, to tell her that everything was going to be alright.

Violet ran as fast as she could, her lungs burning in response as she refused to stop and sprinted at full speed towards her little dove - not caring how long it took, how far away she was she refused to notice the change in ground level and she tripped and fell face first into the grassy plain and rolled down a hill like a new furr rug that nobles would throw stacks of gold at Coming to a halt a few seconds later Violet pushed herself off the ground and began running again paying no mind to the mud and grass stains that had appeared on her legs and clothing. The apple tree stood at the top of a small tree, with Iris in sight standing on her own facing away from her. “Almost there” she thought as she scrambled up the hill, digging her hands into the ground to help push herself up the hill whilst her knees and flat shoes dugs into the ground as she pushed herself beyond her limit of energy and oxygen to make it to the top

She made it, she did it, there she was, Iris

Iris, her little dove

Her world

Finally together again

“Iris” she sobbed running towards the young child, placing her hands on her shoulders and turning the young girl around and bring her close for a tight embrace. Keeping her tears subdued and quiet she thanked the goddess for protecting her after what empire had done to her, little Iris was unharmed. 

Violet looked down to the young girl, puzzled as to why her dove did not return the affection, her back cold from the touch of the small hands she held on a daily basis. She got down to Iris’ level, using her legs as a cushion with her knees pushing further into the earth underneath, Iris didn’t look her in the eye - instead she just started down towards her feet “Iris it’s me look, what’s wrong?” she asked inching her hand towards Iris’ smaller one only to freeze when the young child moved away from her touch “Iris?”

“I’m scared” Iris cried and she walked away from the kneeling woman holding something between her hands “It hurts, it hurts so much,” she continued as she looked out into the distance 

“What do you mean love I’m here, your okay!” she consoled her as she walked over to Iris was standing, turning her to face her once again “I’ve got you, I’ll never let you go understand” she said softly, noticing something shining in the girls hands “What’s that?” she asked removing the small trinket from her

It was a metal brooch with blue silk hanging down from its sides by the clip, with a regal and full detailed lions face carved out into it “Where did you get this?” she questioned, her eyes going wide as she noticed the sky had begun to turn dark and cloudy

“Why did you leave?” Iris screamed with tears streaming down her face “Why didn’t you help us?” she cried flailing her arms around and giving weak slaps to Violets legs, the sound of thunder slowly booming louder and moving closer

“What do you mean dove? I never left” she replied placing her hand on the young girls shoulder only to pull it back when she felt something wet under her palm “W-What” she said breathlessly as she stared down at her hand, it was covered in blood - Iris’ blood. Small hands pushed Violet back in her stomach, causing her to fall to the ground and land on the ground with a thud. She looked up, the apple tree was dead, apples rotten with maggots leeching off them, the branch with a single leaf had been forcefully ripped off with claw marks of a beast marking the tree’s trunk.

Violet looked back to Iris, she stood there filled with rage. Violet looked down to her feet and hands - they were surrounded by water, red water, thick and red like blood. “Iris! What are you doing?” Violet cried as she felt the puddles of blood deepen with her arms and legs slowly sinking into the abyss

“WHY, WHY!” the young girl screamed as lightning crashed over them both causing the dead tree to crack and release out burning flames. Violet looked to the young girl voice cracking in shock to the sight she was seeing

Iris was bleeding heavily from her eyes, her tears were not of salt but made from the iron in her blood, her arms had marks on them as if she had been hit multiple times with different weapons of size, her hair was matted and messy with blood staining her brown hair black as night matching the colour of the sky has thunder and lighting boomed with rain being pelted down to the rivers of blood that was slowly rising and pulling Violet deeper into the ground.

“IRIS” Violet screamed persistently as she felt the pool of blood slowly rise up her neck and began to enter her mouth, she kept screaming and screaming while spitting out the blood that kept flowing into her mouth and down her throat. 

The blood kept rising 

Until Violet couldn’t see anything

All she saw was Iris standing there alone and sobbing as she sank deeper and deeper into the sea of blood, until she didn't she her little dove again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Iris!” she shouted as she awoke, covered in sweat and breathing heavily, the door burst open with a young woman running through after hearing her scream

The young cream haired woman looked stunned to see Violet awake as she shouted out of the door to some more unknown strangers 

“She’s awake!” the young lady cried out as she walked inside and closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar for anyone else who needed to enter “It’s okay, don’t worry your safe” she whispered softly, holding her hands up to show the scared young lady that she was not armed “My name is Mercedes, I’m here to help. You were injured pretty badly when we found you but I’ve been able to heal as much as I can for now” She said giving Violet a small smile seeing Violet begin to steady her breathing and sit in a more comfortable position in the bed

“T-the children” Violet gasped as she tried to get out of bed, crying at the stabs of pain that crushed her limbs and chest as she tried to move

“Easy now!” Mercedes told her as she rushed over to help Violet get back into bed, checking her bandages had not ripped or seeped fresh blood “You need to rest okay? The little ones we found you with are safe and with the other nuns” she consoled her while placing a hand on her shoulder “Even Iris” she continued caused Violet to stare at her stunned

“S-she’s.. She’s okay?” she asked, her voice cracking into a whisper, tears pricking her eyes as Mercedes nods 

“She’s fine and well, her head is slowly healing but she’s right as range and very lucky” she praised as she got up from the side of the bed “Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?” Mercedes asked sweetly to the stranger 

“N-No thank you, just some water please” Violet replied as she moved the blankets on her legs to cushion herself more. With a small bow, Mercedes left the room leaving Violet to herself and her thoughts.

Violet looked down to her arms, they were bandaged from her palms all the way up to her upper arms leaving her fingers sticking out of the ends. Her legs were also bandaged heavily, leaving her feet bare with the bandages stopping half way up her thighs which where covered by a simple nightdress - using a mirror Violet discovered she also had a bandaged around her head with small scratches dotting her cheeks and lips, her final bandaged was around her back and waist giving Violet the need to itch the strange material covering the bruises and gashes from where the imperial soldier had kicked her nearly half to death.

“Please can we see her” a small voice asked followed by additional ‘pleases’ from outside her room

“You heard what Miss Mercedes said, she needs to rest” a bright voice replied making the small voices mumble in disappointment 

“What's all this then?” a smooth, calm and gentle voice asked the group on the other side of her door “Has our sleeping beauty finally awoken?” the voice continued causing another two voices to join into the conversation

“Must you always have a need to flirt with any girl you meet? She could’ve died” another voice groaned in disappointment with another higher voice sighed in annoyance

“Cut it out Sylvain!” a woman's voice said followed by a distinct smacking sound that echoed through the corridor

“What was that for Ingrid!” this ‘Sylvain’ replied 

“Now now all of you” Mercedes interrupted the group scrabble “You can all come in one at a time” she continued making the quieter voices cheer with glee “But!” she added making everyone go silent “You all need to be quiet and calm okay” she finished slowly pushing open the door, holding it open for the visitors.

Violet glanced towards the open door, her heart melting at what she saw. They they where, all 6 of them, her little doves, where there to see her “There you are, I thought you all had left me” she said with a beaming smile making the children return an even bigger one to her before rushing over and pushing each other out of the way trying to give Violet a hug, giggles where heard, little sobs where cried but most important of all they were with her

“You're awake!” Cora chanted as she nuzzled into Violet’s arm 

“What do you mean ‘awake’” Violet jokes “I don't have time to sleep when it comes to you lot” she continued causing laughter to fill the room with her jest, Looking over to her side she gives her heartfelt nod to one of the children “Hello you” she said as she felt the bed dip from more weight being added as a small body crawled over to her and hug her tightly

“I missed you” Iris wept as she cuddled into Violets chest, her own head bandaged in the same style as her own

“Awwh what a bunch of cuties!” a voice giggled causing Violet to look back towards the door, a new face had appeared, a young woman with bright ginger hair stood at the door holding some books that were covered in text that Violet had never seen before, “Are they all yours?” she asked excitedly, causing the children to giggle along with her

“No” Violet shook her head, “I’m merely just a guardian, helping them find a home,” she said making the ginger woman's eyes shine at her 

“My name is Annette, it’s lovely to meet you! And I’m so happy you woke up, we were all so worried especially these little ones” she gestured to the 6 children trying their best to fit on the single bed “And don’t worry they’ve all behaved, well most of the time” she continued looking over to Elijah that was trying to hide from Annette’s glare

“Hey no fair!” he argued “I only wanted to learn how to be a knight with Felix and Sylvain” he finished causing two more people to enter the room, a red haired man as well as a man with long blue hair in a ponytail

“Come now Annette” the red haired man said, putting his arm around her shoulders “Give the kid a break, he did really well in that training session” he said playfully giving Annette a glance when she pushed his arm off her shoulder “Come on Felix you agree right?” he asked the blue haired man that stood in the corner

“I guess” he answered coldly “Don’t get me involved Sylvain” he said with a deep breath as he turned to leave to room but is stopped by another guest, this time a young blonde haired woman

“Don’t get you involved?” the young woman replied raising her voice to the two men “From what I saw you was very much enjoying teaching the young boy how to use a sword!” she finished making the two men glance at their feet

“Ahh Ingrid, lovely to see you” Sylvain said trying his best to appear confident in front of the new lady

“I apologise for their rudeness but it’s most lovely to see you have awoken from your injuries, it was very admirable what you did back there to keep the children safe” Ingrid praised giving a small smile to Violet

“Excuse me please!” a sweet voice asked as Mercedes shuffled into the room holding a glass of water for Violet “Everyone out now, I need to change her bandages and help her get dressed now shoo!” she ordered gesturing her hand to the door. Looking back to the children giving them all a sweet smile “You can all come back later and you can take..” she stopped glancing at Violet for help

“Violet, my name is Violet” she replied to her kindly making Mercedes eyes soften

“You can take Violet to the dining hall later and show her around okay?” she finished, face beaming when the children all nodded in unison for understanding her pleas

“See you all later okay” Violet cooed to the children as she gave them all a hug before they all left the room, waving them goodbye as they left the adults in the room

“That means you lot as well” Mercedes huffed glaring at Annette, Ingrid, Felix and Sylvain as they all moved out of the room and walked off to who knows where “Now then” Mercedes commented 

“Shall we get started?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Small hands guided Violet to the dining hall with Rose and Harry pointing out little things to her like the greenhouse, spare rooms and small groups of cats that lounged around in the sun all day. Little fingers pulled on her skirt trying to make Violet quicken her pace to the line as small tummies needed to be filled with warm food. It had been so long since Violet had felt this warm, new clothes and shoes gifted to her from Mercedes fitted her perfectly and smelled of lavender and honey with tights to cover her bandaged on her legs that matched the colour of a headband she chose to wear to cover the bandage on her head, a feet didn't not hurt when she walked with the new shoes she was given being soft and comfy much different from her old pair that were worn and old with holes in the soles from the miles Violet would walk for clean water.

Standing in the line to be served each child passed down a plate for each other until everyone including Violet had one, obviously well rehearsed by the youngsters as they bobbed up and down in excitement for what food the cooks had on offer for them today. Mercedes had mentioned that it had been about a week since the attack on their previous residence when she was changing Violet’s bandages, being delicate on the deeper spots of her injuries that she needed to clean on Violet’s back and limbs. Violet was grateful that they brought them all back with them to Garreg Mach after finding them so far out in the wilderness - no amount of words of praise would amount to how grateful she felt for giving these children a new start in life

“My turn, my turn!” Henry giggled in excitement as he walked over to the counter and pushed his plate into the middle of the surface

“Now then, hello young man” an older woman sang heartily to the young boy “what would you like today my pet” she asked him whilst placing his plate into her hand

Keeping an eye on Henry ordering his meal making sure he said his ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous’ Violet felt a familiar weight on her knees, looking down she saw Iris leaning into her body “Want me to come with you dove?” she whispered softly causes Iris to jump in surprise and nod quickly, Iris always finds crowds difficult a feeling that Violet would happily admit that she still has no from time to time that started when she was her age

“Thank you” Henry beamed, taking his plate from the cook and walking away to go sit with the other children at the table, It was Iris’ turn now and giving a soft pat on her shoulder for support Iris walked up to the cook with Violet behind her and handed her plate over to the cook.

“Tell the lady what you would like dove” Violet told her, smiling at the cook afterwards “She’s made lots of yummy food today and you can have as much as you want!” she continued enthusiastically

“C-can I have some chicken p-please” she whimpered quietly, playing with the frilly material on her top 

“Of course my love” the cook responded putting what she had asked for on her plate “What veg would you like?” 

“Carrots and peas please” Iris replied watching the cook add the green and orange items to her plate 

“Enjoy duck” the cook sweetly replied handing Iris her plate with care, Iris took her plate and tried to walk away but was stopped with Violet’s hand on her shoulder 

“You forgot to say something” Violet reminded to young girl, her cheeks dusting with the lightest tint of pink

“Thank you very much” she smiled and bowed as she quickly walked away from the counter and went to go sit with the other children

“Thank you, she’s a little nervous in places like this” Violet smiled turning on her heels to walk away

“Aren’t you having anything? There’s plenty” the cook asked her concerned glancing at the empty plate that was help in Violet’s hands

“I’ll just have some bread” she said taking a small bread bun from the basket and thanking the older woman before walking over to the children’s table and sitting down with them. Picking at the soft bread bun, Violet watched the children eat happily together as they talked and stuffed their faces with the warm food - seeing them eat happily like this made her happy but also sad since she would never have been able to give them a meal like this back home

“Violet” a voice inquired bringing Violet out of her daze, Rose was staring at her intently with her big green eyes “After lunch can we show you around the Monastery? There’s loads of cool places we all wanna show you” she said excitedly with the children nodding in agreement with her suggestion

“Yes yes!” Harry added “I wanna go to the market and see what toys they have” he continued with Elijah getting excited with the prospect 

“I would like to go and play with the cats” Iris quietly added while playing with one of the peas on her plate with her fork

“Okay okay settle down” Violet said causing the children to give her their full attention “Eat all of your food and tidy up your plates and we can go” she said making the children cheer with joy and munch down on their remaining scraps of food on their plates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day consisted of Violet being dragged on her own guided tour by the children, them all trying to tell her what they’ve learnt in the short time they’ve been here while interrupting each other causes arguments that Violet would have to rush in and break up before tantrums started. They walked around the market with each child running off in different directions to the stalls of goods that peaked their interested with Iris staying behind clinging on to Violet’s hand; Elijah ran up to Anna, giving the woman a heartfelt greeting while asking questions about weapons and how to become a knight with Anna trying her best to keep up with the chip young boy; Rose and Cora and scampered off to the fruit and seeds stall staring bright-eyed at the large and beautiful blossoming flowers that hung from the roof of the stall with the owner giggling and explaining to the young girls what each flower was and where they came from and Henry was practically drooling over a stall that was selling shiny rocks and pendants with one of his main obsession being rare materials with Harry stood behind him making sure the boy didn’t drool over the delicate goods.

After making some small purchases for each child, with some of the more expensive items that were asked for being declined by Violet they continued their tour along the docks where fishermen stood and waited patiently, eagerly anticipating a bite on the end of their rods. At the docks they bumped into Ashe, a name that Mercedes had mentioned, as he was slowly walking towards the greenhouse before spotting the children and giving them a wave making the children run up to him in excitement with Violet trying her best to keep up with the restricted movement she had with her bandages and the stern words of Mercedes to not over work herself after just waking up. “Ahh hello everyone” Ashe said cheerfully looking towards Violet with a surprised glance “And hello to you too miss” he said politely “it's wonderful to see that you are well” he smiled causes Violet to blush at his kindness

“Ashe, what are you doing?” Harry asked curiously

“I’m just going to plant some new seeds and water the plants in the greenhouse” he responded

“Can we help?” Rose pleaded as she jumped in the air to get his attention

“I think you need to ask Violet” he said looking at her with 6 pairs of small eyes no staring at her making her begin to sweat. Violet pondered in her mind and looked up to the sky to check the time, it was late evening now and it would be dark soon and the children need to have a bath and get ready for bed 

“Alright you can help but you all need to as your told and don’t wander off,” she ordered satisfied with the nods she received from the children and the sudden rush of hugs from each of them before they all skipped off into the greenhouse with Violet and Ashe watching them all with soft eyes before turning back to face each other and give each other a small bow in thanks

“I’ll keep an eye on them don’t worry, you should go and relax for a bit,” he said with a smile before waving goodbye and running into the greenhouse after hearing a crash of watering cans falling over causing Violet to giggle to herself.

Taking Ashes’ advice she decided to go on her own little walk around the Monastery

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night sky was clear and filled will stars that shone like diamonds as Violet slowly walked across the bridge to the cathedral, she had heard talks from others in the dining hall that the cathedral was a place to offer prayers to the goddess before the war started with the holy place now being a room building with destroyed walls and the remains of a statue in the centre.

Violet walked inside quietly, enjoying the serenity of quiet before jumping and seeing a large figure standing in front of the destroyed statue, a large figure that was draped in blue. Her curiosity fuelling her, Violet took a few more steps closer towards the figure and slowly but surely the figure morphed into a person

Stood in front of the statue a man stood alone, wearing a long blue cape topped with wolves skins of black, white and grey, his body protected by black armour covering his fingers all the way down to his feet. Blonde, messing locks of hair sat dishevelled on the cape with a distinct place band wrapping around the man’s head.

Accidentally kicking a small stone, the man turned quickly facing Violet with his weapon drawn causing her to cover her mouth and freeze. Keeping her breaths steady she took in the full image of the man before her, the man that stood before her clearly had the ability to take down anyone in his way considering the sheer size difference between herself and him. He wore an eye-patch on his right eye and stared at her coldly with his remaining one, an eye coloured with blue but stared blankly at her with no emotion. Violet carefully moved her hands away from her face, noticing the man flinch and hold onto his lance harder if she moved too fast, she moved her arms up and to the side to show him that she wasn't armed and did a small spin proving she had no weapons on her and was alone

“I have nothing” she called out “I just want to pray..please” she finished

An awkward silence filled the empty cathedral before the man huffed and removed his weapon and turned away from her again and looked back towards the statue. Violet lowered her arms and walked up to where the man stood, making sure to stand on his left side so he could see her and not feel threatened by her presence taking no notice of the cold stare he had on her when she put her hands together and began to recite a prayer for the goddess

“Hmmph, you pray at a time like this” he huffed in question causing Violet to stop her prayer and glance over to the stranger 

“Only for those who we have lost and for those who are still here” she answered concentrating on not applying to much pressure to her injured palms

“There is no need to pray for the dead,” he answered, “the voices of those lost will always stay with you, with you until you have given them what they want” he said coldly smirking at the way he noticed Violet flinch at his choice of words

“You were there at the village right? Where myself and the children were found” she asked him, ignoring his previous response seeing the man turn to face her in the corner of her eye “Well, was you?” she questioned him

“I was, put purely for the wishes of those that haunt me” he answered causing Violet to lower her arms to her sides and turn to face him “The empire rats blood is the payment I give to those I will have my revenge for” he said menacingly towering over Violet as he straightens his posture

“Well it seems I owe you a thank you” she said staring at him, showing him that his words did not scare her 

The man huffed in response to her words and simplifying looked up into the sky before glancing back at her

“State you name” he ordered, the change in tone and pitch surprising Violet slightly 

“It’s Violet” she replied giving him a small bow as thanks for his assistance in the village massacre “And yours?” she said slowly returning from her bow

“There is no right for a name for a dead, wandering soul” he spat back starting at her 

“You seem very much alive to me” she quipped back causing the man’s left eye to widen at the young ladies response “Your name please” she insisted again holding her arm out to offer a gentle hand shake

The man grunted and turned away from her, leaving her arm to slowly chill with the night’s breeze. Lowering her arm Violet bowed and turned on her heels to leave the cathedral and the man alone for the remainder of the night

“It’s Dimitri” he said blankly causes Violet to stop in her tracks and turn back towards him 

“Well goodnight Dimitri” she said kindly with his back still turned as she walked out of the cathedral and back to her room, leaving Dimitri standing alone in the cathedral once again

“Violet huh” he said to himself, taking his hand and rubbing his face before slowly walking out of the cathedral after a few moments. Scaring the cats as he walked towards them causing them to hiss and growl at him

To the cats he was a wolf, a wolf forever hunting his prey

A wolf that will never stop until he has that girls head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy with how this Chapter came out and we've finally met our boy Dimitri!!


	3. Picking up the pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet adjust to her new life at Garreg Mach while hearing concerning whispers about Dimitri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a massive brain wave for the section at the end and I had to write about it immediately - two chapters in one day? I must be crazy! Enjoy everyone :)

A cool breeze danced through Violet’s long locks of hair as she quickly walked back through the Monastery, losing track of time she needed to hurry and help the children bathe, dress and get a decent night's sleep following the recent events praying to herself that the children did not suffer from nightmares like the ones she experienced while she was out cold

The image of Iris, covered in blood, screaming in fear constantly stuck in her mind - flashing in her gaze whenever she closed her eyes.

“Today has certainly been interesting” Violet said to herself still trying to wrap her head around all the new faces she had met today along with the very detailed and confusing layout of Garreg Mach and Dimitri, the young man who she met at the cathedral

Dimitri..

Using her hands to rub her eyes to try and calm her racing mind she ran down the stairs, taking bigger leaps as she got more confident with her steps. Making a sharp left to and waking down the path that lead to the room that had Mercedes had given her the key for

“Here” she said softly “This is a room you can use, there's just enough room for all seven of you” she giggled clasping her hands around Violet’s much smaller ones

Thinking back to the situation fondly Violet knocked quietly on the door and slowly pushed it open to not wake any sleeping doves, smiling fondly at the sight she saw before her; all the children were sitting in their own beds, tucked in nice, comfy and warm listening intently on Annette singing them a sweet lullaby for them. Annette glanced over to the door where Violet was standing and gave her a small wave as she ended her melody for the children

“Welcome back” she whispered trying to keep the air in the room calm considering the time

“Thank you” Violet praised “You didn't have to do this you know” she said stepping forward coming to a halt when Annette raised her hand to signal Violet to stop talking

“I don't mind at all” she said happily “We’ve all had fun and they’ve all been bathed too” she said walking over to Cora’s bed stroking her hair softly, smiling at her slumbering form “And how are you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side

“I’m fine” Violet replied quickly “I had a nice walk and I think I'm finally starting to understand my way around this labyrinth” she said causes the two young ladies to break out in a short and quiet laughter

“I’ll let you get some rest then” Annette said as she walked towards the door “There’s a clean pair of nightwear for you on your bed” she added as she creaked the door opening, a cold chill entering the room. “If you need anything, just let us know okay” she whispered and waved Violet goodnight

“Goodnight Annette” Violet replied whilst returning the wave to her

Walking to the door, she took out the key from her pocket and locked the door and wiggled the handle to make sure it was definitely locked and secure, a weight being pulled off Violet’s shoulders knowing she doesn't have to barricade the door shut to protect them from whatever terrors that haunt at night. Silently tiptoeing to her bed at the far end of the room, she quickly changed into the nightwear she had been given - a soft and warm nightgown with a pair of leggings to match. Releasing her hair from her hair tie, her long platinum hair dropped and cascaded down Violet’s back coming to a stop near her waist as she slowly climbed into bed avoiding making too much noise to wake the children.

Retreating under the covers, the multiple layers making her feel cosy and warm, Violet slowly closed her eyes and began to slowly drift off into a peaceful slumber

The sound of bare feet walking across the floor filled Violet’s ears as she was trying to enter the land of sleep, the steps coming to a stop by her bed with the mattress dipping to the added weight being put on the side. Violet opened one eye and smiled as she watched Elijah trying to get comfy, jumping when he felt Violet’s arm wrapped around him “Can’t sleep dove?” she whispered rubbing small circles on his back with her fingers

“I would rather sleep here.. If you don’t mind” he asked sheepishly, his voice cracking from the fear of being kicked out of the bed

Moving closer towards the wall, making more space for him, Violet opened her arms inviting the young boy to to shuffle and snuggle into her arm.

A few moments later, the sound of little footsteps followed and the mattress continued to dip as over time each child made their way over to Violets bed as more space was given up for each child. After an hour, all 6 children snuggled up to each and Violet in her bed hugging each other to keep warm. Violet silently laughed at the sight as she was now fully wedged against the wall and unable to move without Cora falling off the end of the bed

“I thought this was my bed” she mused feel a shuffle in movement from Rose near her knee

“We missed you Violet” she yawned

“Sleeping here is better” Henry added as she drifted off to sleep a few moments later

Violet smiled at them all as she rested her head on her pillow, the activities of the day finally hitting her as her eyes began to slowly close with a yawn escaping her. She was happy to fall asleep tonight for the first time in months knowing that her past worries didn't need to keep her awake

She was safe, the children were safe, they had enough food and water and a nice warm room to sleep under with clean clothes to wear

And most importantly they were happy and so was Violet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun peeked through the cracks of the shutters as Violet sat patiently in the infirmary waiting for Mercedes to return, Violet was sat comfortably on the chair swaying her legs from side to side feeling the most refreshed she had in months! Slowly praying for a chance to be able to jump into that soft warm heaven once more before the night covers Fodlan, a gentle knock broke Violet away from her daydreams focusing her gaze on the door as Mercedes walked in holding a box full of fresh bandages, pins and tape

“Here we are” she smiled sitting in the chair next to Violet, unpacking the healing materials she needed before redressing Violet’s arms. Taking one of Violets arms in her hand she gently inspected it, making sure that the wounds were healing properly and that there was no sign of infection considering the amount of dirt she had to wash from her arms when she first began treating her 

“Your arms look so much better,” she said happily making Violet breath a big sigh of relief “There may be some scarring but you will definitely make a full recovery,” she added and she began to wrap Violet’s arms in bandages once again while added small slips of tape to the sides near her elbows “I’ll only bandage your arms this time, your hands are completely healed just make sure not to push yourself too much” she concluded while tying the final bandage securely on her arm and walking over to the sink to wash her hands.

Violet stood up from her seat whilst rubbing her writs looking towards her new friend “Thank you” she said softly causing Mercedes to turn and give her a beautiful smile

“It’s my pleasure, take it as a present for looking after those six little rascals of yours so well” she giggled making the atmosphere in the room at ease. Mercedes had mentioned that the children had begun attending lessons since arriving at Garreg Mach to help with their reading, writing and sums

“Are they all doing okay in the lessons?” she asked Mercedes “They’re not too much of a bother are they? I'm sure you’re all very busy with other duties” she added glancing down to her feet only to look back up again from the distinct sound of Mercedes laugh

“Bother? They’re all splendid!” she exclaimed causes pink to dust Violet’s cheeks “They’re all doing so well in their lessons, don’t worry” she consoled giving a small squeeze to Violet’s shoulder as she brushed past her to open the door when a small figure rushed in and crashed into Violet 

“Iris” Violet laughed carding her fingers through the young girls hair “See I wasn’t long” thinking back to the young girl insisting she was going to wait outside until it was her turn to be treated by Mercedes

“Can you sit with me please?” she asked sweetly looking up to Violet with her sweet eyes causing Violet’s heart to melt at the sight

“Of course my dove” she replied giving her a small bug before picking her and carrying her over to the chair where she was sitting before, once Iris was settled, She removed the bandage from around the young girls temple whilst moving her brown locks to the side of her face and behind her ears - her hair was finally not stained with blood which made Violet’s heart sing knowing that she was on the mend. Taking a step back and allowing Mercedes to work, sending Iris pleasant glances as Mercedes used her healing magic to tend to the more serious areas of her injury before reapplying a plaster to the girls head 

“There all done” Mercedes praised her, giving the young girl a sticker “Your very brave Iris and you should be very proud of that,” she cooed watching Iris jump off the chair and run back to Violet for another hug

“Of course I’m brave!” she declared placing her arms on her hips “Violet is amazing and I wanna be just like her” she admitted causes Violet to glance wide eyed at the younger girl before hiding part of her face behind the locks of hair that had come loose from her bun

“Take it easy no, both of you” Mercedes asked pointing to the two ladies before waving them goodbye for the day. Walking hand in hand, Violet walked Iris to the classroom where the other children would be waiting to start their lessons on the different areas of Fodlan - Iris chatted excitedly to Violet on what she had been learning and how happy she was staying at Garreg Mach before letting go of her hand, waving to her and running off with a skip in her step to her classroom, giving the teacher a polite bow as she entered

Seeing the children this happy made Violet’s heart melt as she walked back to her room to remove the mess that was a mountain of blankets and pillows that the children had decided to create this morning before they had to leave and get ready for their lessons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was midday and the children were all playing their own separate games on the small time they had for a lunch break from their studies as Violet watched them peacefully as she sat on a nearby crate; Rose and Iris where sat have a pretend tea party along with some of the resident cats that had decided to join them, being more interested in trying to clamber into the teacups than sit and relax; Cora was sat to the side of them reading a book with a pair of young kittens sitting comfortably on her lap staring intently at her turning the pages; Harry and Elijah were practising sparring with swords that Sylvain had given them which had been made out of old pillow cases filled with feathers as they both attempted to hit each other in the chest; and finally Henry was sat on his own playing with a ball he had found a few days ago, rolling the object between his legs and occasionally bouncing it up and down for him to catch.

Violet smiled at the group of them reaching her hand down the scratch the ears of a young pup that had come to sit by her legs, leaning into her touch as she continued to come to young fluff ball attention and licking her palm as thank you

“Oh no!” a voice said causing Violet to look up from the pup to see Henry looking concerned as she paced over to his location

“What’s wrong love?” she asked kneeling to his level

“My ball, it rolled that way” he pointed to indicate where it had gone “can you come with me please” he asked nicely, Violet looked back towards where the other children were playing taking into account that there was other nuns watching them all play happily 

“Okay” she agreed “go on ahead and I’ll catch up” she said giving the young boy a pat on his back as she watched him shot up and dart down stairs to retrieve his missing ball, Violet stood and walked back over to her previous spot, crouching down to the young pup and giving it one final pat on the head “I’ll be back soon,” she cooed as the pup barked in response and trotted off to go join in with the tea party with Rose and Iris.

Violet walked down the steps following the route that Henry had taken, stopping when she noticed him stood still and not moving - walking up to him she placed a hand on his shoulder causing the young boy to jolt and look up at her

“Henry, what are you doing?” she asked him noticing the fear in his eyes

“My balls over there” he said quietly pointing to where it was

“Well go get it then” Violet continued tilting her head when Henry shook his head in response 

“I can’t, it’s scary,” he replied causing Violet to make a confused noise

“What do you mean? There’s nothing there it’s jus-” she stopped talking at she looked up to where the ball landed, the ball sat at the edge of a blue cloak - the blue cloak that Dimitri wore as he stood at the edge of the dock

“Come on now, it’s not scary” she reassured him giving a squeeze to his hand “let’s go get it” she continued trying to gently pull him along 

“N-no” Henry cried, digging his feet into the group “People have said that he’s really mean and you shouldn’t go near him” he said trying to hide away from the man as he slightly inched to the side

“Come on now don’t be silly,” she said with a smile, pulling him with a little more force this time “I’m with you it’s okay” she said as she guided towards where Dimitri was standing.

Dimitri turned towards them after hearing the two of them walked towards him and come to a halt, instantly recognizing Violet from the night before but did not know who the young boy was. Staring at her with his remaining eye he watched as Violet gave him a gentle smiled as she ushered the young boy to stand in front of her, failing to notice the way Dimitri’s eye softened at her pleasant greeting

“Little Henry here as something to ask you” she said giving Henry a small pat on the back “Come on it’s okay, ask him”

Dimitri looked down to the young boy waiting for the young man to look at him which he did but only for a split second before shaking slightly 

“U-um..” he muttered looking back to Violet slowly gaining more confidence as she gave him a sweet smile “C-can I.. have my b-ball please..” he asked “It’s gotten s-stuck on your cape s-s-sir” he finished before darting behind Violet to hide causes Violet to sigh. Dimitri looked down towards his feet and saw the ball the child was referring too, reaching down to pick it up surprised that he didn't crush the ball to smithereens - each extended his arm towards the young boy

“Here” he said blankly waiting for the young child to collect their item. Henry quickly emerged from his hiding place, ran forward and took the ball from Dimitri’s hnd before running off back to the safety of the other children

“Henry!” Violet scoffed shaking her head in annoyance at how the young boy forget to say thank you

“Is the cub yours” Dimitri asked making Violet turn back to face the man behind her

“Cub?” she responded tilting her head showing her confusion at the statement

“The boy, is he yours” he said noticing how her eyes went wide at the question

“Oh no no” she replied waving her hands to calm her nerves “I am not his mother, this a guardian looking after him for the time being” she finished letting her arms dropping and place them in front of her knees

“Hmph” he simply responded before walking past her and away into the distance, whispers from the towns folk following him as he walked past them paying now mind to their words.

Violet watched Dimitir walk away noticing the armour on his arm was slightly moved and dented, causing her mind to race at the different situations that could’ve caused the change. A strong hand was placed on her shoulder, causing her to jump and squeak in fright. Looking over her shoulder she immediately realised when she saw that the hand belonged to Sylvain

“My my princess” he said in a smooth voice trying to impress her “Your one lucky lady, his highness isn’t one for conversations” he stated crossing his arms and placing them behind his head tilting his head slightly with the confused expression Violet was giving him “What’s wrong?” he asked her concerned

“W-what do you mean ‘his highness’” she asked causes Sylvain to look at her dumbfounded 

“W-wait.. you don’t know?” he asked her

“Know what?” she answered him back, demanding answers to the riddles he kept throwing at her

Pointing to where Dimitri has walked off to her simply said “That man there is the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus”

“W-what??!” Violet spluttered, choking back a cough in shock to the new information she had just learnt

“Well he’s technically not king yet” he phrased crossing his arms across his chest and putting on a more serious tone “We’re all working together to reclaim what was taken from him, once we have he will ascend to the throne” he said looking to where the future king had walked off too “He’ll make it, I’m sure he will” he finished glancing towards Violet and giving her a small smile. Violet returned a smile with ease before morphing her face once again into confusion as she heard the whispers of those around her

“He’s a monster”

“Don't go near him”

“He’ll kill ya without batting an eye, all he craves is blood”

Violet frowned at the words she was hearing, those aren't true right? She asked herself looking back towards Sylvain that had noticed her concern

“Don’t listen to them. We’ll set things straight don’t worry” he reassured her before walking off to help Harry and Elijah with their sparring session while Violet just stood there in silence and looked back to the arch that Dimitir had walked under

King Dimitir..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moon's rays shone down onto the cracked cathedral floor as Violet sat in one of the pews alone enjoying the quiet atmosphere, she had finally managed to get some time to herself after a hectic afternoon of dealing with numerous arguments the children have had with each other while trying to help them with their homework which brought more tears than success. Violet sat peacefully with her hands clasped together by her face, reciting a prayer of good health when the sound of metal boots colliding with the ground drew her from her thoughts causing her to open her eyes 

“Here again are we” a gruff voice spoke as Violet turned around seeing Dimitri stood there, his features being painted by the moonlight 

“I was hoping for some peace and quiet” she responded causing the blonde man to huff in reply as he walked to the statue at the end of the cathedral, paying no mind to the sounds of Violet following him and coming to a stop by his side. They both stood there in silence, taking in the surroundings that shone a pearl hue with the moon’s rays - Violet looked around the cathedral from top to bottom with her gaze always landing on Dimitri.

“Your arm” she said suddenly. breaking the silence between the two of them causing Dimitri to look in her direction “Your hurt” she said concerned reaching her hand out to the spot she was talking about before flinching in back to her chest when Dimitri turned away from her

“It’s nothing” he said hoping it would make her leave, but it didn’t

“As the future king you need to take care of yourself,” she added boldly, noticing his eyes shift from annoyance to a small spark of anger

“Don’t lecture we like some cub” he spat as he began to storm off, grunting hearing the sound of Violet’s footsteps follow him

“How will you be able to claim back what was once yours when your not at full strength?” she continued as she stopped walking as Dimitri fiddled with the lock on a door

“Enough from you” he argued, finally getting the door open before huffing as Violet shot past him and entered the room before him, his room

“I’ve heard what people say about you, how you want blood and are hungry for revenge” she persisted with Dimitri’s refusal to look at her making her know she was right “let me help you please” she pleaded and stared at him intently for a response whilst moving beside him to pick up a clean towel and held it in front of him “Now take this and bathe please” she asked, earning herself of huff from the blonde

“Don’t be ridiculous” he scoffed

“Bath!” she repeated, raising her voice slightly and pushing the towel into his hand. Breathing a sigh of relief as he walked away, throwing his cloak on a chair and walking into the washroom.

The sound of water running made her relax and she began to tidy his space moving books, paper and other utensils into near piles, rubbing the dust off her hands and lighting a candle she place a small bowl of water and cotton on the side to use to treat Dimitri’s arm - turning to face his weapon that stood in the corner, his heroes relic.

Without even realising, Violet walked slowly towards the relic, her arm stretched out eager to touch it

“Don’t touch that” a low voice said behind her causing Violet to gasp and spin around to face Dimitri now bearing a simple white shirt and dark pants as he took a seat at the table that she had set a few moments ago. Violet sat in the chair next to him, taking a small ball of cotton between her fingers before reaching over with her free hand to take hold of his left arm stopping suddenly when he flinched away from her touch. She could she it in his eyes

He was scared, sensitive even to things touching him

Taking a deep breathe, Violet lightly place the piece of cotton on his hand imitating her dabbing the healing paste onto his skin slowly trying to get him used to the sensation of the cotton. She then began began to do longer stokes of the cotton when she felt his left arm relax under the pads of her fingers

She didn’t care how long this took, she would do this all night if she had to.

Slowly but surely, Violet was able to stroke the cotton from his hand all the way up his arm and back whilst feeling him slowly lean into its touch. Was he enjoying this? She removed the piece of cotton from his arm and coated it with the paste and then repeated the process once again, applying the paste to the small cuts and scars that littered his strong arms before wrapping his left arm up in a bandage taking extra care near his elbow.

“Are you going to let me do you right arm as well?” she asked softly seeing him tense up again as he couldn’t see anything on his right side, noticing this, she stood up and retrieved a mirror from the far corner of the room - placing it in front of him and angling it in a way so he could see the right side of his body. Moving her chair to his right side, Violet sat down once again and got a fresh piece of cotton in her hand “There can you see me now?” she said giving him a small wave through the mirror failing to notice the pink that crept onto his features as she got back to work.

While cleaning his right arm, Violet felt the ends of her hair move slightly as she glanced into the mirror. There Dimitir was fiddling with the end of her hair ever so gently causing Violet’s heart to flutter and quicken in pace, she stopped quickly and released the remained of her hair from its bun allowing it to fall into Dimitri’s hand smirking the way his eye went wide to the new feeling of more hair being brushed along his hand. Violet continued to work quietly as Dimitri played with the ends of her hair until she was finished and tyed the final strand of bandage by his arm

“There, all done” she praised trailing her hand down his arm and giving a soft squeeze of his palm and she stood up with the bowl and used cotton pieces and disposed of them appropriately with Dimitri following her movements with a warm stare. Violet washed her hands and the bowl clean as the last of the wax from the candle burned out leaving only the moon to shine light into the room.

Violet left the bowl in the sink to dry as she walked over to the door to leave, turning back to face Dimitri that was still watching her intently

“Goodnight your highness” she said softly with a bow as she walked out of his room to retire for the remainder of the night as Dimitri sat at the table in silence

Trying to understand this unfamiliar feeling her felt in his stomach

It was warmth.


	4. Taming the beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As time goes on, the beast slowly begins to retract his claws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy :)

A few days had passed since Violet had tended to Dimitri’s injuries the other night, crouched on her knees and scrubbing at the tiled floor of the reception hall with the midday sun shining on her back. Violet had offered her services to help around the Monastery as a way to give pack to the people who had helped her as well as the children so much in this past week.

Dipping the rag back into the bucket filled with water, the ice cold water sending jolts of energy from her fingers to her arms helping her stay focused considering the many hours of sleep she had lost in the previous nights which were mainly caused by the horrendous task of trying to help the children with their homework that always ended with tantrums, tears and books and quills being thrown across the room in anger. Another factor being that the seven of them relocated to different rooms in the monastery with the children now being settled in the environment, the children shared two rooms with the boys separated from the girls now giving Violet her own bed space which she thought she would never be blessed with again with the cramped living environments she had become accustomed too in the past few months in the village; though Violet loved having her own space to try and relax on a night the children didn’t always nagging at Violet to stay in the room with them until they all were asleep in their beds which could have taken anywhere from two hours to 5 on some more stressful nights with the sun greeting Violet as she finally made it back to her room and got into her bed

Even tucked away in the safe cushioning of her blanket, Violet still found it difficult to enter the land of sleep with the moments she had Dimitri played through her mind constantly; the image of him being gentle with her hair always causes her heart to beat faster with her face be overcome with warmth

But Violet didn’t mind at all, the new challenges with the growing children didn’t phase her in the slightest conquering the aces and pains from her body that begged her to sleep whilst she was doing her work.

Throwing the rag back into the bucket, Violet dried her hands on her skirt and looked around the reception hall to make sure she had cleaned everywhere - a warm glow illuminating the tiles as the sun rays danced across them. Moving the bucket to a side, Violet picked up a sweeping brush and began to brush the hall whilst taking care not to slip as she walked over the wetter tiles that had yet to dry from the days sun and breeze. Brushing up and down in graceful movements as if in a dance, Violet swept and shared pleasant greetings with the nuns and the knights that walked through the reception hall on their way to their duties littered around the buildings many rooms and halls

Taking her time she slowly removed all of the dust and dirt molecules that had blown onto the tiles while Violet had been working at the other side of the hall away from the door, taking a cloth and polishing the pillars that held up the ceiling and straightening any vases of flowers that stood crooked. Putting her hands on her hips and admiring her completed task she took a step back to triple check she hadn't missed a spot before turning around to the sound of a whistle

“Hello Violet” Ashe greeted as he walked to stand by her side, holding some worn books of texts “working hard are we” he mused causing Violet to giggle at his statement

“Just doing my part as thanks” she smiled at him, glancing down to the books the young man was holding “and what do you have there? More knights tales for Harry and Elijah” she asked noticing how Ashe moved his hand to rub the back of his neck at her question

“Well yes, they enjoyed the other tales I had read to them before so I’ve decided to bring some more to read to them when they have time” he answered

“Please don’t over work yourself” she said ignoring her plea being in the complete opposite of what she had been doing recently “I know you’ve all been busy helping his Highness and I don’t want us to come in the way of that” she finished gripping onto the cloth she had in her hands

“Worry not” he reassured her with a sweet smile “We’re all ready for our mission in the next few days to reclaim one of the fortresses that previous belong to us, it’s nice to be able to not worry about it all when I’m with the children reading them these books” he concluded before placing one of the books back in the stack “I would love to stay and chat but I need to go but these books in the library, I’ll see you again another time” he said in a rush as he wandered off up the stairs trying his best to wave goodbye to Violet in the hall. Violet smirking at the young man's quick escape she placed the broom and bucket away in the storeroom and walked to sit on the bench outside of the classrooms where Iris would be learning how to improve her writing skills.

After a few moments, Iris skipped out of the classroom with her face lighting up when she saw Violet sitting on the bench waiting for her as she ran over to her and jumped into her arms for a hug

“Oof” Violet coughed as she tried to regain her balance “did you have a nice lesson?” she asked her little dove, giving her a warm smile as she listened to Iris tell her what she had learnt and how well she was doing, despite the problems she had with the homework

“Can we go get lunch and then go to the greenhouse?” Iris asked her nicely “I wanna check on the seeds we planted with Ingrid yesterday” she added while giving Violet a sweet gaze

“Yes of course my dove” she agreed, taking her small hand in her own and guiding her to the dining hall, slowly picking up each child from their own separate class on the way with them all trying their best to keep a conversation with all of them while trying to avoid arguments if one child interrupted another on their recollection of what happened in their lessons in the morning.

Following the same routine as any other day, the children and Violet all stood in line waiting to be served by the cooks. All remembering their pleases and thank yous to Violet’s delight as she watched each child receives their meal and walk over to their tablet, with Iris now being confident to be able to walk up on her own and ask for her meal with Violet stood to the side watching her intently. 

Iris skipped passed Violet with her plate of warm food and took her seat next to Cora, the cook at the counter held up a plate signalling to Violet if she wanted anything

Violet waved her hand and politely declined as she walked over to the children, sat down and watched them enjoy their meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaning on the glass door of the greenhouse, Violet patiently waiting for Iris to stop playing with the cats that she greeted on a regular basis with her sneaking scraps of food out for them on occasion. The young cats huddled around the young girls legs as she gave each cat a loving pat on the head before moving onto the next cat that mewled for her attention

“Iris” Violet called over to the young girl which caused the cats to stare at her “We need to water these plants now before you need to go back to class,” she added, smiling when Iris quickly said goodbye to her furry friends and ran over to the door to where she was waiting.

Violet opened the door, leaving enough room for Iris to enter first as she followed her inside to building. The sun shone beautifully through the glass windows that reflected off the flowers that grew from the soil and the vines that travelled across the ceiling like beams to support the delicate structure, the smell of fresh produce and soil filled the two girls nostrils as Iris skipped ahead as Violet closed the door behind her.

Violet picked up a watering can and filled it with fresh water making sure that the can didn’t overflow and spill any of the liquid down her legs

“There here Violet!” Iris squealed in delight, jumping up and down at the sight of the flowers she had planted with Ingrid and the other children yesterday and grown a tiny bit since she left them yesterday afternoon

Violet walked over to Iris holding to watering can to where she was standing, praising Iris for her hard work and how well she had done taking care of the plants in such a short amount of time

“Can I water them please?” Iris said, placing her small hands on the metal watering device, jumping when the cold service touched her small finger tips

“You can but the watering can is really heavy so I need to hold onto to it okay” Violet told her as she placed the can in front of the young girl and guiding her hands to slowly tip the watering can down giving the small buds a large refreshing drink, the two of them giggling if any excess water splashed onto them in the process “There all done” Violet said as she removed the watering can and placed it back into its usual place, walking back over to Iris to marvel at the plants the children had planted

After a few moments, the glass door opened allowing a cold breeze to enter the room which caused Violet to turn around - her eyes going wide to who she saw enter the greenhouse

It was Dimitri

The future king noticed Violet and Iris standing at the end of the greenhouse and began to walk over to them, he felt like he needed to say something to Violet but he wasn’t sure what or how to say it

“Good afternoon you Highness” Violet greeted him, offering a small bow that Iris copied before walking forward towards the young noble 

“Your really a king right?” she beamed, bombarding him with loads of questions with pure excitement as she had never met someone from a royal family before. Dimitri did his best answering the young girls multiple questions, only answering her with simple yes no answers in a deep tone hoping to get the young girl to stop pestering him

“Hey that's enough Iris” Violet interrupted her, placing her hand on a small shoulder and giving it a squeeze “Don’t be rude now, he’s very busy” she added causing Iris to nod and smile towards to two of them.

The bell chimed for one o’clock, causing the three of them to look outside, it was time for the afternoon lessons to start

“Time to go Iris” Violet encouraged her, giving a small nudge to start walking “Do you want me to walk with you?” she asked 

“No thank you, I’m fine” she said giving Violet a hug before running off to her next lesson with Violet watching her fondly making sure she made it to the correct room unlike yesterday where she made a wrong turn and started crying before Violet swooped into the rescue. Walking over the flowers that where swaying slowly next to Dimitri she placed a feather light touch of the pads of her finger along the edges of the petals, Violet has learnt and seen so much since living at the monastery and she’d loved every moment and more

“You look pale” a gruff voice said bringing Violet back to the present, looking over to the young lord

“Excuse me?” she replied facing him now in the greenhouse

“I said you look pale, have you been eating” he asked in a deep tone walking past her to the edge of one of the other flower boxes where Violet was standing

“I’m fine” she said paying no mind to his questions, focusing more on the flowers in front of her. A new feeling was present in her stomach, she could feel butterflies prodding her in her stomach with her palms began to sweat. This feeling emerged whenever she thought about Dimitri since helping with his injuries a few nights ago, a feeling that kept her awake at night and off her food as the images of Dimitri in his casual wear and being gentle with the locks of her hair flooded into her mind causing her cheeks to heat up.

Calm down, it’s nothing, pull yourself together 

“Didn’t take you as the type to enjoy gardening,” she said, glancing to the side at where Dimitri was standing causing the man to grunt at her statement

“I’m not, I just come here from time to time..” he started before pausing his sentence as a petal on one of the flowers in front of him fell off its stem, turning to look at Violet as she stood there staring at him “What” scoffed causing the young woman to blink 

“O-oh it’s just..” she started before turning away from the flowerbed and bowing her head down “I’m really sorry!” she said suddenly causing Dimitri to stare at her wide eyed “I talked to you really rudely before, and I didn’t know you were of royal blood and-” she stuttered and she added more and more reasons for her to be apologetic before straightening her posture to look back at the man before her.

A chill of silence filled the room and Dimitri took in the full profile of the woman stood before him;

She wore simple but elegant clothes that matched with her hair colour with small trinkets that matched the colours of her eyes

Her hair was tied in a simple ponytail with parts of her platinum hair sticking out from the back of her head, a sign that she had been working a lot these past few hours

She was small but walked around with pride not letting others comments affect her

Here eye’s where clear and glistened whenever she looked others, a sign of her gentle and caring nature - even giving a caring glance to him

“Don’t be stupid” he said making Violet silence her mumbling sentences “You haven’t done anything wrong” he added

“B-but your High-” Violet stuttered

“That’s enough!” her interrupted her “And I would rather you address me by my name than my title” he whispered causing Violet to tilt her head “I don’t deserve this title that was handed down to me” her concluded leaving the atmosphere to rise with tension again

“Woof” a bark echoed through the greenhouses causing Violet and Dimitri to startle and look outside - a young pup had stolen one of the gardening tools and was running out of the greenhouse 

“Hey!” Violet shouted as she gave chase to the young dog after a quick farewell to Dimitri

Dimitri stood there alone in the greenhouse as he watched her run up the stairs attempting to catch the dog, he stood in silence, hearing nothing but the voices that haunted him. Before the voices of his dead comrades clouded his mind, a spark of light entered his gaze as he looked down to the ground, there on the ground where Violet had been standing before she ran off was a small metal trinket that hung from a simple white chain of metal links.

Dimitri knelt down and picked the item up in his hand, starting at the item he had found

It was unique, a trinket he had never seen the shape of before in all his days

And it reminded him of Violet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaping up the stairs, Violet chased after the dog with the stolen garden equipment in its mouse while bobbing and weaving through the crowds of people that littered the monastery in the early evening, she had been trying to catch the little rascal for nearly an hour now and was starting to lack energy to keep running - even chasing the children in their games was less tiring than this and she had to chase all six of them!

Skidding to the side, she ran past the gatekeeper giving him a breathless hello and thanking him for pointing to which direction the dog had ran off in. Running up more flights of stairs and nearly tripping over her own feet on more than one occasion, Violet’s sprint came to a stop as she saw the dog sat down playing with the small spade on the ground - walking quietly to where the dog was sitting, gaining its attention by the sounds of her deep breaths trying to take in mouthfuls of oxygen

“H-h-hey little one” she panted as she dropped to her knees to not scare the small dog “C-can I have that b-back please?” she asked holding her hand out, the dog tilts its head in curiosity and trotted over to Violet with the spade in it’s mouth. Violet placed her hand on the dogs head, giving it small pats and scratches making the dog’s tail wag, with the dog distracted she slowly moved her remaining hand to retrieve the spade from the dog's mouth.

With the spade now free from the young dog’s teeth, knowing she had tricked the young dog she stood up and placed the spade in her pocket which caused the dog to stare at her once again “Run along now” she said as the dog to run off to one of the knights that was sat alone on a nearby bench, Violet sighed in relief as she made the slow walk back to the greenhouse to put back it’s stolen property.

When she arrived she was surprised to see that Dimitri had left, instantly feeling embarrassed that she ran off like a school girl without saying a proper goodbye. Placing the spade back in it’s pot, she staggered walking back to her room to try and get some peace and quiet before she would have to pick the children up from their final classes of the day, take them for their dinner, help with any new homework, make sure they bathe and finally get them to bed at a decent time as she silently prayed that she didn’t have the repeat of the other night which involved Rose and Cora have a huge argument over who Violet sat with first as they tried to fall asleep.

Walking down the corridor to her room, she stopped as she saw Dimitri standing near her door with his hand outstretched. Puzzled she walked over to him to see why he was there

“Dimitri?” she called out, causing him to look in her direction “What’re you doing here?” she asked coming to a stop in front of him

Dimitri stood there silent before reaching into his pocket and handing her what she had dropped in the greenhouse

“You dropped this” he said holding it in front of her face urging her to take it at once, Violet gasped when she saw what he was holding before gently taking the trinket from his hand

“Oh gods, thank you so much!” she thanked him earnestly, placing the small metal trinket near her heart “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lost it” she said with a small smile, looking straight into Dimitri’s eye “How’re you arms?” she asked, taking a step towards him

“They’re fine” he replied, looking away from her - he could feel it

They were coming back

The voices

Not again

A sharp pain pulsed in Dimtri’s head, causing him to groan and grip his hair in pain as he leaned forward 

“Dimitri?” Violet stuttered as she ran forward and placed her hands on his shoulders to support him, making sure he didn’t fall over “What’s wrong?” she asked concerned 

“It’s nothing” he said, hissing as the pain became worse

“It is something tell me” she persisted, moving closer towards him

“M-my head” he replied shallowly as he tightened his grip on his head, feeling his fingers dig into his scalp. Seeing he was in pain, Violet quickly moved and opened the door to her room

“In here quickly” she said gently guiding him to go sit at the desk, raising her voice when Dimitri dropped to his knees on the floor

“Hey!” she shouted, rushing over to him to try and help him up 

“I’m fine here” he spat, leaning his back against the side of her bed “A simple headache that’s all, it will pass,” he mumbled

“Don’t move” she ordered, rushing over to the sink in her room to grab a cloth - wetting it with cool water and squeezing it to get rid of the excess before running back over to Dimitri. “Here” she said softly placing the cool cloth on his forehead while leaving her other hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure your okay?” she asked, waiting for his answer

“It’s nothing, your wasting your time” he hissed, leaning into the cloth that was on his head “Why help a man that listens to those of the dead” he joked causing Violet to stare at him

“There’s no voices” she cooed “Your safe” she added, rubbing small circles on his back

Dimitri tried to answer back but what hushed by Violet place her hand on the side of his head, rubbing his head soothingly trying to stop the pain in his temple. The two of them sat there for some time - in each other’s presence waiting for the pain in Dimitri’s head to go away. Leaning into her touch, Dimitri relaxed as he could hear the shouts and screams of his dead comrades leave his mind

Violet smiled seeing the future king relax considering his cold and aggressive behaviour towards others. Halting her movements on her hand in his hair and staring at the young man before her, his eye closed leaning his weight on her hand.

“I’ll get you some water” she said breaking the silence as she removed her touch from Dimitri’s head and walked over to the sink to fill up a glass

Dimitri watched her as she walked away from him, allowing the cloth that had been sat on his head to drop down onto the floor. His eye softened, he didn't know how to put it into words to thank her but he knew he would one day after he had claimed back what was rightfully his and brought Edelgards head back with him.

Taking the glass of water from Violet, he quickly gulped down the liquid before standing up from his seat on the floor

“Where are you going?” she asked, brushing her hand on his wrist

“I need to go and discuss the next mission with the members of the Blue lions” he said as he began to walk towards the door

“Do you want me to walk with you?” she asked suddenly making Dimitri stop in his tracks, he turned to face the young woman

“I don’t need you to baby me” he groaned 

“Look I won’t come far, just so you don’t fall down the stairs” she cooed causing Dimitri’s dead heart to beat faster

“Fine” he agreed as he left the room with Violet quickly following behind him

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of them walked in silence down the monastery halls as they made there way to the conference room where the next mission would be discussed, Violet glancing every so often at Dimitri to make sure he wasn’t showing any signs of pain as he walked.

Entering the room, Violet was greeted by the familiar faces she often saw around the monastery grounds in the day;

Annette and Mercedes where chatting away

Felix was stood in the corner alone watching as Ingrid lectured Sylvain 

Ashe sat quietly in his seat - giving Dimitri and Violet a smile when he noticed the two of them enter the room

“Hello your Highness” Ashe welcomed Dimitri, giving him a bow “And hello to you as well Violet” he added causing everyone else in the room to look at her

Mercedes smiled and waved to Violet causing Violet to awkwardly wave back

“Are you joining us?” Annette asked excitedly as she jumped from her chair and went to go another one for Violet 

“O-oh no I’m just going back now” she said before wobbling slightly causing Dimitri to turn towards her direction

“Are you alright?” Ingrid asked 

“I-I’m fine” she replied meekly before trying to reach for the door to leave the room

Dimitri walked over to Violet placing a hand on her shoulder, turning her towards him he stood in silence as Violet’s face had gone as white as a ghost

“Your pale again” he told her, trying to move her to a nearby chair

“I-it’s nothing really” she insisted, trying to push him away but her arms gave way causing her to fall forward which made everyone in the room call out to her in a panic

Dimitri caught her feeling her body go limp in his arms

“Lay her down quickly” Mercedes shouted as she ran over to Violet with Annette not far behind her as they dropped to the floor trying to rouse the young lady

They called out to her but Violet couldn't hear anything

Her limbs grew heavy, her eyes began to close

Her vision blurred, only making out the blobs of people in front of her 

Until her vision went black.


	5. Feelings emerging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet slowly recovers after collapsing in front of the blue lions - giving her a lot of time to realise what the new feelings that bubbled in her stomach meant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 time! As a quick note - I wont be adding the next chapter while Sunday/Monday as I am going to be taking a short break as I have written a lot in the past few days

“Hurry this way!” Mercedes beckoned, running to open the door to the spare room. Dimitri followed behind her whilst carrying Violet in his arms - not letting go of her since she collapsed in the conference room, using his arm to support her neck and head with his other holding her legs. 

He walked quickly whilst carrying her with much care, not wanting to break her and she laid there motionless in his arms with her breathing steady

Walking into the room that Mercedes had found her walked over to the bed and gently laid her down on the bed and took a step back as Annette rushed into the room with the remaining blue lion members stood in the doorway

“How is she?” Sylvain asked, glancing to Dimitri that just stood in silence looking at Violet

“She’s extremely dehydrated and exhausted from the looks of things” Mercedes said “I just need enough time to be able to get some fluids into her system”

“I’ll help” Annette raised her voice earning herself a thankful smile from the cream haired woman

“I will offer my assistance as well” Ingrid added and she pushed her way into the room “You all need to leave please” she commanded, sending a glare to Felix, Sylvain, Ashe and Dimitri

“Please keep us updated on her condition” Ashe pleaded with them “I will go and help the children in Violet’s place” he added before running off to notify some of the other nuns of the situation. Knowing they would both be in the way, Sylvain and Felix left to continue the duties they had abandoned before attending the meeting

But Dimitri didn’t move, he stayed put

Watching Violet

Worrying 

Dimitri was brought back to his senses when he felt a hand on his arm, glancing to see Mercedes looking at him

“I’ll let you know how she is okay” she said whilst closing her eyes and giving him a smile 

Accepting her words, Dimitri nodded and left the room and closed the door behind him. He stood on the other side of the door replaying the actions from moments ago - how the platinum haired woman was insisting she was fine before collapsing into his arms, her head hitting the chest plate of his armour before going limp

Limp light a body

A dead body

He quickly tried to quell the thoughts of death out of his mind, replaying Mercedes words in his head telling him that Violet was safe and that she was still alive

She wont die, she wont die

How did this woman manage to take other his chain of thoughts, why did she treat him like an ally? She should be scared of him but she’s not. He sees himself as a blood thirsty beast, taking no prisoners when it comes to his revenge and wants, yet she sees him as a human, an equal

Dimitri felt his face heat up, cursing at the disgusting feelings he was letting himself take other his mind

“Your a monster

“You don't deserve a pleasant life

“You have no right to love”

“No right to protect”

“No right to live”

The voices in his head got louder and louder as he began to walk down the corridor to the training grounds

The evening over Garreg Mach was quiet

The only sound of clashing of metal and the crunching of wood filled the air as Dimitri obliterated object after object

He was not a Blue lion

He was a beast

And he will do anything in his power to show that to the world, no matter the cost.

The three young ladies of the blue lions house quickly got to work, assigning each other roles of who to get what while Violet remained sleeping on the bed. Once they all had agreed on what the three of there where doing, the three of them rolled up their sleeves and got to work - beginning the medical treatment that Violet urgently needed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the following morning

Mercedes walked into the room where Violet had been sleeping, checking her temperature Mercedes sighed in relief at the signs of Violet slowly recovering with her skin now presenting her a healthy glow on her face. Herself, Annette and Ingrid worked tirelessly until late into the night giving Violet the treatment she needed.

Ingrid ran in and out of the room, running to grab the items Mercedes needed while Annette did her best to keep Violet cool as it was discovered she had a fever when Mercedes had began to administer the vital fluids the young woman needed

Violet’s body at the start of treatment was weak and limp, her skin pale as snow. Cushions had to be used to support her heads and legs to keep the blood flowing through her veins due to the angel she had collapsed - the only colour was the small red bruise on her head from where her temple had hit Dimitri’s amour when she fell forward.

If Dimitri hadn't caught her, Violet would be in a much for serious condition and giving the circumstances she could’ve died with how little food she had eaten the last few days. Mercedes heart sank at how much Violet would sacrifice to make sure the children were okay, how she would pass the opportunity to have a warm meal for herself by making sure the children were well fed and watered before her. 

Mercedes added some medical notes to her small book - adding extra details on Violet’s condition and how it was slowly improving with prolonged medical care she received throughout the night, looking up noticing Violet begin to stir in the bed - running to her side to comfort her

“Easy easy” she soothed, placing her palm on her forehead “It’s me, your okay” she cooed as Violet slowly began to open her eyes

“W-wha..?” Violet coughed as she slowly awakened, feeling like she had been hit by a travelling cart “What.. happened” she spluttered as her throat burned for water

“You collapsed from not eating and being exhausted, I told you to take it easy,” she reminded her in a cross tone making Violet want to bury herself in the sheets

“I’m sorry..” she said, sitting up to give Mercedes a hug to her side earning a small pat on her back from her friend 

A single knock was heard on the door before it opened, causing Violet and Mercedes to gasp in surprise. Dimitri walked slowly into the room with eye showing nothing but relief seeing Violet sat up in her bed 

“Has she eaten?” he asked abruptly, looking at Mercedes

“No, not yet. I was just about to go and get her something” she replied, giving the young lord a bow

“Then go, I will stay” he said walking past her and sitting on the chair in the corner of the room. Stunned Mercedes dashed out of the room to go and get Violet her food, leaving the two of them sat in silence 

“You lied” he said coldly, glaring at Violet

Violet tried to protest before cupping her hand on her head and groaning in discomfort, Dimitri’s eye widened as he lowered his tone

“You lied” he repeated to her

“No I didn’t” she argued which caused Dimitri to glare at her “Okay maybe I did but I’m fine see” she added waving her arms around “I just wanted to give something back to the others” she whispered as she scrunched the blanket between her fingers “I didn’t want to burden anyone..” she concluded looking down in defeat

“You’re only a burden when those cubs are crying for you and you can’t help them” as he stood to open the door for Mercedes holding a tray of food for her “Go and rest Mercedes” he demanded making the woman look at him surprised

“What? I’m fine” she insisted looking towards Violet

“Mercedes don’t worry, I’ll be fine” Violet called out to her, giving her a full smile

Following their words, Mercedes bowed and left the room.

Dimitri walked over to the bed and placed the tray in front of Violet “Eat” he ordered before moving a chair closer to her side

“Don’t treat me like a child” she argued causing him the laugh at her words

“That’s rather hypocritical of you, considering you insisted on following me like a lost puppy last night” he argued back taking notice of the pout that appeared on her face

“Sorry that I didn’t want you to fall down the stairs, I’ll let you next time” she grumbled as she began to nibble on the food that Mercedes had brought her 

“Just finish your plate and then I’ll leave” he replied, ending the conversation as he leaned back in his seat

The sound of Violet munching on her food filled the room as the two of them sat in each others presence, Dimitri occasionally glancing towards her checking she was eating the whole portion that had been made for her. Violet finished her meal and gulped down the warm tea that Mercedes had left her before pausing and looking over at Dimitri and noticed he was lost in thought 

“Are you okay?” she asked him earning herself a sigh from the man

“Just thinking about the mission, we’re marching at dawn tomorrow,” he said, turning back to face her and noticing Violet staring at him “What is it?” 

“Just be careful” she mumbled “And if your head hurts tell someone” she added as she moved the tray off the bed and onto the bedside table before moving her hand to sit on his knee “Don’t the voice win, you’ll get through this, let us all help you” she pleaded with him quietly 

“Fine” he agreed before standing to leave the room “get some more rest and don't go falling out of bed now” he joked, smirking at the sound of disgust Violet made to his jest

“Just promise me something” she called out to him making Dimitri freeze at the door and turn to face her again

“What is it now?” he asked annoyed with her sudden question

“Just… let us all know when your all coming back… please” she said with a quiet sob as tears threatened to fall from her eyes “The children will be worried about you all” she finished looking down at her hands on her lap

The room stayed silent after Violet’s request as Dimitri stared at her sat in the small bed

“If you wish,” he said before leaving the room, not giving time for Violet to thank him, the door closed with a thud making the empty glass on the table move slightly with the knives and forks rattling

Violet sighed and flopped back down onto the bed, her body feeling weak again but refreshed. She needed to rest and she was gonna do everything in her power to fully recover in time for the blue lions return to the monastery

She needed to heal

To get stronger, not just for the children

But for him too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days seemed to pass by on a snail's pace as Violet stuck to the strict instructions that she had to stay in her room and rest from Ingrid before the blue lion members embarked on their mission a week ago

Violet liked the room she had in the monastery but was slowly losing her mind from boredom, flicking the pages of a book for the fifth time in the same day - practically having the fictional text memorised in her head. How she longed to leave her room and watering the plants in the greenhouse with the children on their lunch breaks, help them with their homework and read them stories on a night - glares being sent her way when she was caught trying to leave her room by the nuns who had kindly taken over her daily tasks for her while she recovered to full strength

Standing up every few hours, Violet paced around her room making sure her body wouldn’t go stiff and stretched her arms to her sides and above her head, feeling the refreshing pop of her joints. Standing in the centre of her room, Violet crouched down and back up again to keep blood circulating properly through her veins - she found these exercises annoying but she only did them out of stern warnings from Ingrid and gentle pleas from Mercedes.

Walking over to her desk, she rearranged the items on top of it and cleaned away any dust that had started to sit on her books and quills. A beautiful bouquet of flowers sat proudly in a vase at the top of her desk, a gift given to her when the children came to visit her one afternoon after she was taken ill - she arranged the flowers neatly in the glass vase after adding fresh water, the flowers where beautiful and smelt gorgeous and the colours of each individual flower, there was six of them, reminded her of the little hands that picked them for her as a prayer for good health and a full recovery

A knock on her door startled her as she quickly jumped back into bed, knowing that if she was caught walking around she would get a telling off from one of the older nuns

“Come in” she said smiling as the door opened and Rose appeared at the other side with a small cat trailing behind her, Roses eyes lighting up when she saw Violet awake and well

“Hello Violet” she said, skipping over to her and climbing up onto the side of the mattress “are you feeling any better?” she asked as her small cat companion leapt on the bed to join the two of them and parked itself on Violet’s lap, meowing for attention and purring loudly as Violet began to stroke it’s stomach

“I’m feeling much better thank you, how is school?” she asked looking at the young girl and giving her full attention.

Rose explained in great detail how her maths lessons with the other children were going really well with her now being able to work out more complicated sums of addition and subtraction, she added that Elijah and Henry were progressing splendidly in their sword training with them now being trusted to wield wooden swords instead of ones made from cushion. But the one thing Rose talked about the most was how much the children missed her, causing Violet to choke up at her words

Violet was missing the children too, missing her normal routine that she both loved and dreaded each day as she woke up. She missed reading them stories of adventures of knights - hoping that the tales would inspire their young minds at to what they wanted to achieve when they were older, she missed the tears that fell when the homework they were all given was difficult ad became too overwhelming and most of all she missed just being able to see them and their beautiful smiles on a regular basis

Leaning over to the young girl, Violet gave Rose a long and warm embrace whilst thanking her and the other children for being so brave the last few days and how they all managed to stay up to date with their studies and get their homework completed on time

“Have you heard anything from the others” her little dove asked, looking up at Violet - a common question from her since the blue lions has departed on their mission, Rose had a very close bond with Annette as Rose too loved to sing and dance having Violet often finding the two of the prancing around outside

“No, no yet my dove” Violet answered shaking her head, holding the young girl closer to her body feeling the disappointment in her facial expression, “They’ll be back soon don’t worry and I’ll tell you straight away” she reassured her whilst rubbing her back to console her causing Rose to snuggling into Violet’s arms more. The two of them sat there for a while chatting about their days until the bell chimed for Rose’s next lesson to start, sharing quick parting words with one another before Rose sprinted off to her lesson with the small cat following behind her.

With peace and quiet no invading the room, Violet laid down to try and take a short nap as requested by Rose - turning onto a side as she bundled the blankets around her body. Pleasant thoughts entered her mind of the children enjoying their lessons as she felt her eyes grow heavy and they began to close, slowly travelling her to the land of sleep

Then she thought of the blue lions travelling back to Garreg Mach after successfully completing their mission and reclaiming what belonged to the future king making her thoughts travel to Dimitri

She thought of his gentle play with her hair once more, now knowing that Dimitri was the one that caught her when she collapsed and carried her to the spare room when she fell ill

In her sleepy state she saw something else that she longed to see

She saw Dimitri smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours had passed when Violet was rudely awakened by one of the nuns entering her room, rousing her from her sleep with her hair covering her face. A gentle hand of guidance was placed on her arm as the nun waited for Violet to wake 

“It’s early evening my dear” she said softly, “I’m here to help you walk over to the bathhouse while your lunch is prepared” she added removing the blankets off Violet causing a chill to latch onto her body. Obeying her words, Violet pulled herself out of bed and retrieved the clean clothes she was going to change into and walked with the nun to the bathhouse taking her time as her legs were still weak

As they walked to the bathhouse, Violet sent out waves to the residents of the monastery that she often talked to on a daily basis - thanking them for their concerns and well wishes when they were all informed that she had fallen ill and stopping a few times on the way to pet the cats that brushed up to her ankles.

Violet hummed in delight as she slowly sank into the warm bath, the steam gently blanketing her in warmth as she stretched her legs in the water and sliding her back down the side of the tub to submerge her body in water up to her shoulders. Her hair was floating on top of the water with some of the locks sinking to the bottom and gently swaying in the gentle waves of the water

Picking up the bar of soap, she covered her body in it’s sweet scent while massaging her arms and joints before washing all of the soapy residue off her arms using a cloth. She then coated her hands in shampoo and carded her things through her long hair, making bubbles appear in her hair in huge clumps and some bubbles rang down her arms and dripped into the bath water causing small peaks of bubbles to float on top of the water by her knees - using a jug a few moments later to wash out the bubbles whilst small splashes of water fell onto the tiled floor.

Satisfied with all of the shampoo has been rinsed for her hair, feeling clean and refreshed she removed the plug allowing the water level to slowly decreases as Violet carefully got out of the tub and wrapped herself up in a warm towel and walked over to the clean undergarments she had brought with her that sat on a nearby chair. Once dressed in her undergarments, Violet proceeded to put on a soft pair of trousers with a long sleeved top made out of cotton that showed her neckline and collar bones and went to sit in front of the mirror at the far end of the bath house

Taking her small brush in her hands, Violet began the slow and painful job of untangling her hair from its messy state as she slowly brushed out the knots and kinks that stuck out from her head - Violet loved her long platinum hair but some days she cursed her choices of growing it out to it’s currently length when struggling to remove a much larger knot in her hair, trying her best not to rip pieces of her hair out in the process. Once her hair was brushed, she took her hair into her hands and began to plait it wrapping the pieces of hair together and using a band to tie her hair in place at the end but leaving her fingers on the end of the plait - without realising, she imitated the motions of Dimitri’s fingers from when she was tending to his arm, the pads of her fingertips stroking the ends of her hair

Her face grew warm, her cheeks went red as she stopped her movements and pushing her face into her hands

She could tell, the feelings she was having of affection where growing in her the more time she spent with the young lord. “Cut it out” she thought pushing the feelings aside for the prince, kicking herself mentally at her even beginning to have these sorts of feelings for another

He doesn't like you

You are just a peasant girl

A street rat with nothing to her name 

No family to call home

No future to have

Leaving the bathhouse abruptly after her confidence is slowly destroyed, Violet bumps into the nun that helped her walk to building - a large grin on her face

“I have news!” she said excitedly, taking Violet’s hands into her own causing Violet to tilt her head in question

“What is it?” she asked in a hurry, squeezing the nuns hands for comfort

“They’re coming home”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet paced relentless back and forth at the monastery gates the following day, the news of the blue lions imminent return giving her a rush of energy knowing that they were all safe, successful in reclaiming the land and coming home.

The six children sat patiently on the steps, looking out into the distance waiting to see the distinct colour of blue for the houses emblem. The children had been given some free days away from their studies now that Violet was slowly back on the mend and allowed to leave her sleeping quarters 

“Look over there!” Harry shouted causing Violet to look into the distance

She saw it

The emblem

They were here, finally

They were home

The children quickly jumped to their feet and began to run down the stairs with Violet trying her best to keep up behind them, making sure none of them tripped and rolled down to the bottom of the stairs like a wheel. As Violet made her decent she saw the children stop running and give all the members waves and cheer for their returned with some of them running up to their personal favourite and giving them a big hug

Smiling at the sweet greetings, Violet made it to the bottom of the steps and walked over to the returned party earning her many smiles from the blue lions seeing her out of bed and in a better state to the one she was in when they left Garreg Mach

Annette quickly ran up to Violet and tackled her into a hug, nearly causing the two of them to fall over with Violet laughing joyfully at her show of affection with Mercedes slowly joining in with the group hug between the two girls

“It’s good to see you” Annette said whilst squeezing Violet tight

“Morning princess” Sylvain whistled to her as he walked to greet her with Ingrid and Felix “nice to see that your back with us” he winked 

“Come now, I’m not that sick - I have six little terrors to look after” she quipped giving the children a playful gaze when they turned around to protest her words “I’m kidding!” she quickly added, holding her arms up in the air in defeat 

But then she noticed him, she noticed Dimitri stood on his own watching everyone. Removing herself from Annette’s grasp, Violet moved around her and walked up to Dimitri - the other blue lions watching her with Sylvain quietly whistling to the two of them, followed by Ingrid giving him a slap on the back of his head.

“Welcome back” she said softly with a smile with her eyes closed, unable to see the small amount of pink that dusted his cheeks “Oh!” she interrupted herself as she dug her hands into her coat pockets “Here” she continued, handing a small wrapped item to Dimitri

“What’s this?” he questioned, examining the item she had given him - stopping his movements when Violet’s much smaller hand tapped his when he tried to open it 

“Take as thanks for carrying me, and you can’t open it yet!” she said, pointing her finger at the box making sure he followed her orders

Dimitri released a small huff of laughter before putting the item away in his pocket - and he smiled to her

He smiled

Violet’s heart melted at the sight 

She knew now she couldn't deny it

She had it bad for him

The sound of a carriage coming to a stop pulled the two of them out of their gaze, turning to look at the unknown carriage that had just arrived at Garreg Mach. the other blue lions members walked closer to the two of them to inspect the situation

“I didn’t know we were having guests your highness” Ashe said, looking towards Dimitri

“We shouldn’t” he replied, gripping his lance in his hand 

An older woman carefully stepped out of the carriage with the help of a servant; the woman's hair was styled that was littered with beads and small pins; she wore expensive clothing a huge sign of her wealth to others; her face was painted in the finest makeup and her teeth glistened white as she smiled at the servant who had come to her aid.

The woman noticed the group of eyes watching her and smiled and she quickly walked up to them

“Well isn’t this a warm welcome” she chuckled, her eyes going wide as she noticed Violet standing next to Dimitri

“Oh Violet..hello!” she said enthusiastically

“You know her?” Felix asked Violet, everyone going silent as Violet walked forward towards the woman

Standing in front of her, Violet bowed and placed her hands in front of her stomach

“Hello” she began

“Mother”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for leaving it on a cliffhanger - see you soon :)


	6. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunions are had but at what cost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my hiatus - had a lot going on in my personal life that needed me to take some time away
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter and remember to STAY SAFE

“Violet darling!” she sang as the older woman pulled Violet towards her for a hug paying no mind to the stunned looks on the blue lions faces

Mother?

“It’s nice to see you” Violet replied, trying her best to sound clear while her ribs were being crushed by the woman's tidal wave of affection. They stood there for a while before Violet released herself from her mother’s arms “What are you doing her she asked” moving her arms to her side

“I’m to see you silly!” she exclaimed as she playfully nudged her shoulder “Am I not allowed to come see you from time to time?” she asked tilting her head to side 

“N-no it’s fine!, it’s just a surprise that’s all” Violet said while waving her hands in front of her trying to calm her down

Surprise? She hadn't seen her in almost 2 years!

“Violet?” a voice asked causing her to turn around, “Care to introduce us?” Sylvain said

“O-oh of course, sorry” she began bowing to apologize to the others “This is-”

“My name is Diane” she interrupted walking past Violet to stand in front of the group “and yes you heard correct, Violet is my daughter”

Violet moved awkwardly to stand next to her mother once more whilst trying to hide the sad look on her face from everyone, the last they spoke had not ended well, Iris noticed Violet’s change in demeanor leaving Mercedes side and running over to Violet and wrapping her small arms around Violet’s hips in an attempt to comfort her. 

“You have a child?” Diane asked stunned now taking notice to other five small pairs of eyes looking at her 

“No I don’t, I’m just looking after them until they can be reunited with their parents” Violet answered, running her fingers through Iris’ hair “And I ask once again why are you here?” she glanced towards her mother 

“I will be staying here for a few days, many families who have been affected by the war have been slowly making their way to the monastery for their own safety” she concluded as the servant from before placed her luggage next to her “I will go and get settled” she dismissed herself and left the group stood outside of the monastery.

“Violet?” Iris spoke whilst pulling on the ends of Violet’s coat with a worried look on her face, Violet crouched down to the child's level not caring of the mud that would stain her clean clothes

“What’s wrong dove?” she asked giving a small squeeze to Iris’ hand

“You look sad” she said 

“Sad? I’m not sad, I’m fine” she reassured her “Everyone’s back see” she added, turning Iris around to face the blue lions “Why don’t you go show Annette and Mercedes how your flowers are?” she suggested giving Iris a small nudge forward

“Okay!” she beamed running towards Annette before skidding to a stop “but what about you?” she asked turning back towards Violet who was still crouched on the ground

“I have some work I need to so so I’ll see you later okay” she smiled, the lump in her throat fading as Iris nodded and pulled Annette and Mercedes by the hand to the greenhouse with both Rose and Cora following them

Violet stood and brushed the mud from her trousers, her annoyance at the dirt disappearing as she watched Sylvain exaggerate on the events of their mission to Elijah reenacting the final blow he made to the enemy general with Felix shaking his head at the pure white lies he was telling the young boy

“I will excuse myself your highness” Ashe said with a bow as he began to walk back to his quarters 

“So who’s up for training?” Sylvain joked as the young boys jumped up and down with excitement “Come on Felix you too” he added and he began to drag Felix along with them

“Don’t get me involved you idiot” he protested as he tried to break free from Sylvains grip on his arm with both Harry and Henry pushing him forward as Elijah leaded to group to the training grounds 

“It’s great to see you’re better” Ingrid smiled placing a hand on Violet’s shoulder “We were worried, all of us” she added glancing towards Dimitri who was watching Diane’s cart traveling through the drawbridge “I’ll see you tomorrow okay” she said before retrieving her pegasus and leading it back to the stables 

Violet stood in silence, replaying what had just happened in the last few minutes in her head   
her head was pounding giving her the sign that it would be best to turn in for the day as she began to walk towards the monastery

“For someone who has seen their mother who cares for young cubs I would’ve expected you to be more excited” Dimitri spoke causing Violet to stop

“I’m fine” she said moving past him, a strong hand took hold of her wrist causing her to jump and turn back - noticing that Dimitri had grabbed her wrist “Let go” she protested

“Your lying” he said staring blankly at her “You may fool the cubs but not me” he added whilst loosening his grip on her wrist

“I said i’m fine!” she spat snatching her wrist back from his hold and bringing it to her chest, taking a deep breathe to calm down from her sudden outburst “I’m sorry” she apologise rubbing her face with her hands “It’s been a long day” she added trying her best to hide the fatigue in her voice 

“I’ll walk you back” Dimitri said as he took hold of her wrist again and began to pull her along 

“I don’t need an escort” she pouted 

“You don’t have a choice” he groaned as he and Violet went back inside the monastery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a day since the blue lions had returned from their last mission with everything slowly returning to the familiar hussle and bussle of the monastery on a morning before lessons for the new children of the monastery began 

Violet had already helped the other children get ready for their day making sure they have everything they needed from their books and packed lunches that she had made the night before, Harry was the last to be walked to his lesson as Violet walked with him holding his hand to his classroom. Harry had seemed preoccupied this morning as Violet had trouble getting his attention on their daily walk

“So, are you excited for your lesson?” she asked him, giving him a puzzled look for him not answering her “Harr-” she started before Harry forcibly removed his hand from hers

“Don’t hold my hand, I’m not a baby” he argued as he stormed off ahead with Violet closely behind him “Don’t follow me either” he spat as he picked up the pace in his walk

“Harry you know I can’t do that, I need to make sure you make it in time for your lesson - we don’t want a repeat of last time when you got lost” she said as the two of them came to a halt in front of his classroom

The two of them stood in silence with Harry ignoring Violet’s glances of concern 

Has she done something wrong?  
is he okay?  
why is he pushing me away all of a sudden?

The anxiety of her thoughts ate away at her as the bell rang for his lesson to begin as the other children began to enter the room prompting Violet to lean down and place a hand on Harry’s shoulder 

“Have a good day okay” she smiled noticing part of his collar was tucked the wrong way as she knelt down to fix it for him

A slap echoed throughout the hallway as Harry slapped Violet’s hand away from him “Go away!” he shouted as Violet stared stunned as Harry ran off towards the classroom “just leave me alone” he finished closing the door behind him

Violet knelt there shocked looking down to the small red splotch that had appeared on her hand from the young child's outburst, rubbing it to make the sting leave her skin - clenching her her hands together to calm herself 

Just stay calm breathe she thought at she slowly rose to her feet, it’s fine everything is fine she repeated to herself 

“My my, young children are such a hassle” a voice spoke, Violet glanced in the direction of the sound. Diane stood there with her arms crossed after witnessing the whole ordeal a few moments ago “Don’t you know your just wasting your time, they do not care for what you are doing for them” she said as she waltzed over to where Violet was stood

“It’s not a waste of time, someone has to do it” she argued glancing away from her mother “I’m simply filling the void until they can reunited with their parents in safer circumstances” she concluded turning to fully face her

Diane signed heavily and held out her arm towards Violet “Walk with me” she asked 

“To where?” Violet questioned “shouldn’t you have business to attend to” she finished imitating her mother's movements from before by crossing her arms

“It has already been sorted” she quipped “Am I not allowed to ask my own daughter to tea?” she continued reaching her arm out more towards Violet “We should talk”

Violet wanted to deny it but her mother was correct, they should talk

“Fine, but not for long as I need to prepare the children's work space for their homework” she said linking her arm with her mothers

The two of them walked with their arms linked towards a quiet area in the gardens to have their tea, a simple tea set sat between two generations as Diane poured the tea into each other, their cups with small biscuits on little saucers next to them.

“So how are you Violet?” Diane asked as she took a small sip from her cup “Of all the things I expected from you, looking after little runts was something I didn't think of”

“Don’t call them that. They have names” Violet glared 

“Now now I’m only teasing” Diane added waving her hand “You know there’s always a place at home for you, a space to carrying on with my work”

“I have a home and it’s with them, all six of them” she replied moving her cup to the side 

“Sweetheart, what will you do when they fly the nest - more people are arriving and sooner or later their parents will show up if they survived” she taunted “You saw how the little boy was with you earlier, he doesn't want your help and I highly doubt the others do as well

“I will stay with them for as long as they need me” she replied “There children, they all have their bad moods”

“But why bother with children that are not yours” Diane spoke as she moved her chair closer to Violet, moving her hand to brush Violet’s hair away from her face “You need to focus on yourself, your future, children of your own and-” 

“You know that’s not possible!” Violet interrupted her moving her head away from her touch “Y-you know I can't..” she whispered tightening her grip on the cup feeling the chips of broken pot from the handle stick into her hand “You was there when they told me” she finished

“And that’s why you should leave and come with me” Diane cooed, placing her hands on Violets cheeks moving her hands so that Violet was looking at her “Let me take you home, my flower” she said as she rubbed her right hand through Violet’s hair

Violet just stared blankly at her mother, even after all this time she wasn’t angry with her for leaving and going off on her own. She never wanted to admit it but she could see clear as day the features she had gotten from her mother; how her eyes shined deep sea blue, a caring smile and long locks of hair like her own a darker shade of platinum due to her age. How her eyes haven't changed remembering back to how she stood by Violets side as the doctor explained to her how Violet’s reproductive system had not developed properly which is why she wasn't experiences the ‘changes’ other girls her age where having which lead to the news how it would be very difficult, near impossible for Violet to fall pregnant in later time.

“Lady Diane” a voice spoke, it was the servant from before that had helped her with the luggage from her arrival “Your presence is needed, I apologize for intruding” he said with a bow 

“Thank you, I’ll be right there” she smiled towards him and stood to leave “Just think about it, won't you?” she pleaded leaning down to place a quick kiss in Violet’s hair before walking away from their table to whatever business she needed to attend to - leaving Violet sat on her own with the two cups

The words her mother has spoken played in her mind as she sat there looking off into the distance, she paid no mind to how long she had been sitting there alone leaving her tea to turn cold as snow.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few week had passed since Violet had her ‘talk’ with her mother and even though she didn't want to admit it, her mother's words had rung true - slowly but surely each one of her little doves began to push her away

It didn’t bother her at first as they were all growing up and wanting to be more independent for themselves and gave them the space they needed when asked but the comments that the children would say to her slowly began to hurt 

“I don’t need you” they all would often say when Violet would try to help them with their homework, pushing her away when she would try and ask them how their days where when she would walk with them back from their classes 

But “you can't tell me what to do your not my mum” would hurt the most

The comments and tantrums became more frequent causing Violet to lose hours of sleep as she tried to figure out what she had done to cause the children to change so suddenly, her anxiety slowly overflowing her mind and she went about her day

And here she was once again sitting alone at the pier watching the world go by, the fish swam gracefully in the lake avoiding the swipes from curious cats that were brave enough to dip their front legs into the water to try and retrieve a tasty snack. A lone kitten laid snuggled next to Violets hand sleeping soundly and purring loudly in the sun as Violet dipped the tips of her shoes into the water 

Footsteps grew louder on the pier from behind Violet causing the small kitten to jolt awake and run away, Violet turned surprised to see Gilbert 

“Miss Violet” he greeted with a nod which Violet returned with a small smile “How are you?”

“I’ve been better” she admitted to him “but I’ll get over it” she assured him, moving her body so that she was sitting facing him “Is something wrong?” she asked tilting her head to the side

“No but I have some news and I must also thank you” he began “His highness told me how you had helped him with the injury to his arm and to that I am very grateful”

“It was nothing, don't worry royalty or not I still would’ve helped someone who was injured” she replied earning herself a rare smile from the older man “You said you had news?” she questioned

“Ah yes, well it’s about the children you arrived with” he began stopping when Violet jumped to her feet instantly 

“Are they okay? is there something wrong?” She asked walking quickly towards him  
“No they’re fine, it’s something else” he reassured her “There parents have been located” he concluded

“Really? T-that’s great!” she breathed a sigh of relief “where are they?” she asked

“They all will arrive in the next few hours” he explained “the children have been made aware of the news an- miss Violet where are you going?” he asked as Violet ran past him

“To help them pack” she called back waving goodbye to him before turning on her heels and running to their rooms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet handed a small back to each child as they patiently lined up behind her, each bag contained their clothes as well as the books they had acquired over their time at the monastery

No one spoke  
At a time of happiness everyone was quiet

“Are we all ready to go?” she asked as she handed the final bag to Cora, the children stood silent and nodded as they slowly triciled out of the room they had been using the past few weeks

The walk to the room where their parents had been gathered was quiet, only small whispers were heard and small stomps from their shoes on the stone paths. Slowly one by one the members of the blue lions joined them, apart from Dimitri, striking up conversation with the children trying to lighten the mood

And then they had made it, they all stood in front of a large wooden door, behind that door was the parents that each of her doves had longed to see for so long. The doors slowly opened revealing each child their parents, the room filled with cheers and happy shouts of their names as the children ran ahead crashing into their parents for hugs. Violet stood and simply watched the reunions happening with the little ones she had protected for so long, a familiar warmth landed on Violets hand as Annette stood at her side - the young woman giving Violet a small smile 

“You took my child” a voice boomed causing everyone to go silent “You took my child away from me” the voice said again, it was Henry’s father 

Violet let go of Annette's hand and walked into the middle of the room where Henry’s father stood 

“What have you done to him?” he howled grabbing hold of Violet’s shirt with both hands

“I haven’t done anything” she calmly replied “I simply made sure all six of them where safe and had a warm place to stay until they could be reunited with you all”

“You stole him!” he spat “I never asked you to look after my child” he shouted, shaking Violet violently ignoring the pleas from his wife as she shielded Henry from the sight of the confrontation “You’re a thief! A good for nothing thief, SO GO BACK TO THE HOLE YOU CRAWLED FROM AND LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!” he shouted pushing Violet backwards before slapping her face with an open palm causing Violet to fall to the floor

“That’s enough” a voice boomed causing everyone to look towards the door, it was Diane as she slowly began to walk into the room walking past Violet who was still on the floor “You have your child shouldn’t you be leaving now?” she said 

“Wha- leaving?” Violet spoke up as she began to slowly get off the floor “What do you mean leaving?” she questioned glaring at her mother

“They were only here to retrieve their kin before moving on to a safer location” she said as the parents and the children slowly began to leave the room with their things. Violet tried to run to them but was stopped by her mother instantly “let them go” she said as she continued to hold Violet in place

“Let me say goodbye” she pleaded as she tried to push past her with no avail

“I can’t let you do that” Diane continued as her grip on Violet grew stronger the more Violet struggled

“IRIS!” Violet shouted “ROSE, ELIJAH!” she yelled but they ignored her, she kept shouting and screaming just for them to look back at her

But they ignored her no matter how much she shouted, no matter how much she screamed

Until they were gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been hours since the children had left the monastery, Violet stood alone in the cathedral in the chill of the night staring off into the sky. She had felt so lost since they had left, still carrying out her routine despite the six little ones being with her. She kept going for them and now that they were gone what was she supposed to do?

Heavy footsteps echoed through the cathedral causing Violet to glance behind her, her eyes widening at the sight of Dimitri approaching - ignoring his presence she simply continued to stare at the floor, the broken tiles, the chipped stone and the bouquet of flowers that she remembered leaving with the children.

Dimitri walked to her side but stood a few meters away from her

“You haven’t eaten” he grunted

“I’m not hungry” she mumbled

The two of them stood in silence, the sounds of their breathes filling the room

“You can’t keep acting like this” Dimitri broken the silence “You-”

“And what am I supposed to do?” she shouted back, Dimitri’s eye going wide at her sudden increase in volume “Everything I did was for them, I have nothing!” she continued as she paced around the room “I have nothing, I have no purpose ugh! The one time I listen to that woman” she stomped as she walked over to one of the stone pillars, placing her hands against its cold surface “I kept them safe yet I’m the problem…I protected them when they all got separated from their parents yet I am accused of stealing them” she continued as Dimitri just stood there and listened to her ranting, his grip on his lance becoming tighter

“Just stop”

A quiet thud echoed throughout the cathedral, Violet had hit the pillar in front of her “Why can’t this all be over” she ranted as she continued to hit the pillar in front of her with small bruises appearing on her hands “If the Goddess is supposed to protect us then why is this all happening” she shouted “Why do we all have to suffer like this..” 

“Stop”

“Why can’t it all just end?, why can’t-”

“THAT’S ENOUGH” Dimitri shouted, throwing his lance in the direction of Violet - the force of his throw making the lance pierce the stone pillar just above Violet’s head. Violet stood there in silence facing towards him, her hands covering her mouth as she shook from fear

Dimitri walked towards Violet, he stood in front of her as Violet backed into the pillar behind her. Dimitri towered over her because of the sheer difference in height, staring at her coldly with his eye, leaning down ever so slightly - Violet stared back at him, the ends of his blonde hair barely touching her head

“You're acting like a fool” he said moving a hand towards her, Violet tensed and closed her eyes only to open her right eye slightly when small pieces of stone fell on her hair as Dimitri removed the lance from above her with ease. Once he had retrieved his lance he simply walked away leaving Violet standing there in shock

“Don’t let them win” he said glancing back at her before leaving the cathedral

Exhaustion took over Violet as her back slid down the pillar and she slowly moved to sit on the ground, she sat with her knees to her chest staring at her feet - the cold of the night surrounding her 

And then she cried, tears kept streaming down her face - she sobbed to herself for the first time in forever. No matter how hard she tried her tears wouldn’t stop, how silly she felt at first but she knew why she was crying

How long had it been since she had cried like this?

So she sat there on the cold cathedral floor crying, her cries grew louder as time went on as she began to whine like a child. A eyes stung with all of the liquid that was pouring out of them, her hands red from her outburst from earlier 

Time stopped as she sobbed and wailed  
she just cried and cried  
until she couldn't cry anymore.


	7. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet takes the small steps she needs to help herself after the children have been reunited with their parents

The rain poured down on her as Violet sat by the pillar in the cathedral. Her crying had ceased hours ago, and she didn't care that it was the hours in the morning. She didn’t care what time it was or what day it was. She just wanted to be alone.

Her clothes were drenched as she sat under the remaining hole in the cathedral roof to be fixed, her hair hung low on her shoulders as the weight of water it had absorbed increased as more rain drops landed on its surface and her hands were still red from her outburst with the pillar she was leaning on. Violet moved her legs and wrapped her arms around them to cradle her knees into her chest, resting her head on her knees 

“I’m so weak it’s pathetic” she sobbed as no tears fell from her eyes as they stung with the red lines that painted her cheeks from her sobs. 

Violet closed her eyes and prayed that it was all just a bad dream, that the war hadn’t began and that she was safe and at home - that all the pain and suffering was gone 

“Miss Violet!” a voice spoke followed by the quick taps of shoes on the stone tiles as the voice ran over to her “I’ve finally found you” 

Looking through the strands of her wet hair Violet could see the voice belonged to one of the older nuns, she sat there as the nun tried to gain her attention

“Your freezing, we need to get you inside come now” she cooed as she pulled Violet to her feet “Miss Violet..” she sighed as she placed her arms around the young woman as Violet rested her head on her shoulder “It’s going to be okay” she soothes as she rubs small circles on Violets back 

Violet stood there in the embrace, her arms draped down against her side “Is it though?” She questioned as the nun moved her hands to Violets shoulders 

“It may not seem like it now but it will soon my dear” the nun reassured her with a small smile, moving to place an arm around her back “Lets go get you cleaned up okay?” As she began to lead Violet out of the cathedral 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Using her cape to shelter the two of them from the rain, Violet and the nun arrived back into the main reception of the monastery before being led up the stairs to the next floor by the reassuring hand of the older woman. At night the corridors where oddly peaceful as the oil lamps illuminated the hall painting the two ladies shadows on the floor, small wet footprints were left behind as Violet walked before the two of them came to a stop in front of the wooden doors

It was the infirmary, yet it wasn’t Manuela’s room

“What’s this?” Violet asked as the nun unlocked the door with the key 

“It’s a separate room to treat those who have been injured as more people have arrived in the coming weeks” she replied as she stepped it and began to look through the cupboards of bottles with Violet stepping into the room a few moments later and closing the door behind her 

“Why are we here?” She asked now shivering to the cold that crept up her skin moving her arms to cover her chest as she watched the nun pave around the room 

“Please go sit on that chair please” she asked as she opened a large curtain unveiling a secluded space with a bathtub, waking over to the tub and turning the tap to let water start filling it. Once she was satisfied with the temperature she walked back over to Violet who was sat on the chair she had pointed to moments ago “I’ve brought you here so we can treat you in any chance you may become ill due to the cold” she began placing the back of her hand on Violet’s forehead, tilting her head to the side as she felt the difference in temperature from her own to Violet’s “You were sat out there for quite sometime and I don’t want you to catch something because of that so I’m going to prepare you a medicinal bath for you” she concluded before walking back over to the tub and turning off the water before rolling up her sleeve and taking the lid off a small bottle before pouring its contents into the water and using her arm to mix the two liquids together

“A bath? I can do that myself” she stated as she glanced down to her feet “I don’t want to be more of a burden that I already am Miss..”

“Kathleen but please call me Kathy as my full name was mostly used by my late mother!” She chuckled before placing a hand on Violets “It’s not that I don’t trust you but I believe with how things have been the last few hours this is something that will benefit all of us” she smiled “Now I’ll go get you a clean set of clothes while you undress and get in, I won’t be a moment” she bowed before leaving the room 

Violet sat there for a few moments before standing and peeling her wet clothes off her body and placing them on the chair behind her before walking over to the tub and sipping her fingers in to test the temperature 

It was heaven, a warmth that she had longed for

Kathy’s steps from the corridor signaled for Violet to get into the tub, facing herself away from the door as she moved her hair to cover her chest.

After entering the room, Kathy closed the door and locked it behind her before placing the new clothes she had brought onto a counter before rolling up her sleeves again before walking over to the tub and closing the curtain “I hope you don’t mind me doing this, if at any point you feel uncomfortable tell me and I’ll stop” she said before moving a wooden stool next to the tub and sitting on it

Violet stayed silent and cradled her legs closer to her chest as she heard Kathy dip a cloth into the medicinal water before placing it on her back and began to gently wash its contents onto her cold skin - it was a weird feeling but for some reason she didn’t feel embarrassed having an older woman wash her despite being in her early twenties, she felt comforted having someone with her at this time 

“T-thank you,” Violet whispered into her arm, earning herself a smile from Kathy as she continued to wipe the medicinal water onto her back.

After a few minutes Kathy discarded the cloth and gave Violet a small bottle of shampoo as she went to the sink to take a jug from the lower cupboard 

Violet poured a small amount of the liquid into her palm before lathering her hair with the substance, huffing when her fingers would get stuck in the knots that had formed from the rain

“Leave it for now” Kathy said as she dipped the jug into the water filling it almost to the brim before moving it level with Violet's shoulders “Ready?” She asked as she held the jug over Violet’s head

Violet nodded and closed her eyes waiting for the impact of water, her head dropped slightly as the water made contact with her head and began to cascade down her head, shoulder and her arms before landing back into the water bringing the foamy contents of the shampoo with it

Violet hissed when the water landed on her bruised knuckles and fingers, rubbing them gently once the water assault had stopped

“I’ll bandage your hands as well” Kathy reassured her as she placed the jug on the side before retrieving a towel and placing it on the stool she was sat on “I’ll let you get dressed” she bowed before leaving the room 

After a few moments, Violet drained the tub and wrapped herself in the towel Kathy had left her - clutching it around her body as she walked over to the new sleepwear she had been given. After drying herself with the towel, she quickly dressed into the soft shirt and leggings before signalling to Kathy via a knock that she could enter the room again

Kathy entered and retrieved a comb before brushing Violet’s hair until it was soft like silk, for Violet this was strangely therapeutic as the older woman tied her hair into a neat bun and using the comb to fix her bangs into the correct place on the side of her face

“Lovely” she cooed putting the comb down and collecting some bandages from a small draw “This might sting a little” she said as she began to clean her knuckles gentle before wrapping them in bandage very similar to a brawler would wear 

“Why help?” Violet said abruptly breaking the silence in the room as Kathy continued to dress her injury 

“It’s my job an-“

“Did my mother send you” she interrupted Kathy causing the older woman to halt her actions 

“No” Kathy answered, tilting her head at the huff of small laughter from Violet 

“I’m not surprised” she sighed moving her hand to her lap as Kathy tied the final bandage and taking a step backwards 

“It doesn’t matter who sent me” she began as Violet looked up to her “What’s important is what comes after, and seeing you accept my help is a good sign” she smiled holding out her hand “Now let me walk you to your room Violet”. Violet rose from her chair and walked to stand in front of Kathy and hesitated before moving her arm slightly, looking back to the older woman waiting patiently for her as she placed her hand in hers 

“Okay”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Following Kathy, Violet walked quietly to the end of the corridor to the stairway “A different room has been prepared for you” Kathy announced as she began to walk up the stairs unlike what Violet was used to as her other room was on the bottom floor 

“Says who?” Violet questioned as she followed Kathy up the stairs

“My written instructions from my employer” she said as she retrieve a large metal key from her pocket as she came to a stop in front of a large door 

“Here? This is the new room” Violet said as she looked down to the key being handed to her from Kathy 

“Yes” she said placing the key in her hand before bowing to her “I hope you sleep well Violet” she said before taking her leave and left Violet in the corridor alone 

“Kathy” Violet called out to her as Kathy turned back towards her “Thank you” she said with an honest smile as a small tear fell down her cheek. Kathy smiled back before exiting the corridor as Violet unlocked the door and entered her new room.

Closing the door behind her, Violet eyes widened at the interior of the room as it was clearly designed for someone of higher class than herself - walking over to a small desk where a small plate of biscuits and a cup of tea. Violet smiled as she sat down and popped one of the small treats into her mouth, humming at the sweet flavor of honey before taking the cup and drinking the tea

Releasing a heavy sigh as the warmth of the liquid soothed her mind as she began to feel the gentle pull of sleep calling to her, tilting her head when she saw a small envelope on the bedside table. Walking over to the bed taking the envelope in her hand before sinking down into the mattress - opening the envelope carefully with the added difficulty of the restricted movement from the bandages on her knuckles

Unfolding the paper she began to read

Dear Violet,

We’re here for you 

Blue lions 

A simple sentence, a single sentence was all it said with the blue lions crest at the bottom. Tears fell down her cheeks as Violet brought the letter to her chest and hugged it, smiling as her tears continued to fall 

She knew that she was going to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A knock on the door awoke Violet the next morning, rubbing the sleep from her eyes Violet untangled herself from the sheets and got out of bed before rushing over to the small chair by the desk

“Just a minute!” She called out to her unknown visitor as she quickly dressed and combed her hair in her rushed state, being satisfied with the loose plait Violet dashed to the door and opened it and was surprised as the visitor 

“Felix?” She gasped as she invited him inside with an open arm 

“I’d like to talk out here thank you” he replied 

“How can I help you?” Violet questioned as she folded her arms behind her

“I’ve heard the other knights talking, mainly about you at the state you was in last night” he said crossing his arms “If your going to make a fool of yourself at least do so in your room and not out in the open” he finished 

“I-I..”

“Listen I don’t need Annette whining at me like a puppy when she couldn’t find you in your room it’s irritating” he interrupted her glancing down the the bandages on her hands

“I’m sorry” Violet apologised with a bow 

“We’re leaving for the next mission tomorrow” Felix broke the silence “I suggest you go and settle everyone’s doubts before we leave” he said before excusing himself

Violet ran back into her room before grabbing a small bag to take with her before fading out of the room and down the stairs in search of the blue lions members, she needed to reassure them all that she was okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Placing the final pot on the table, Violet whipped her hands on her clothes and smiled that she had managed to get everything prepared in time for the final meeting before the Blue lions left for their mission at dawn to reclaim one of the forts near Empire territory

Recounting she had left enough quills and ink for everyone, Violet pulled out each chair slightly from the large council table but leaving the largest at the head of the table 

It was Dimitri’s chair 

Placing her hand on the intricate wood carvings, Violet hoped that Dimitri would attend the meeting despite him excluding himself from everyone else in the monastery 

The wooden door creaking brought Violet back from her daydream as she removed her hand from the chair and moved to rearrange the books in the shelf at the side of the room as the sound of metal boots on the wooden floor filled the room 

“Oh Violet” Ashe said as he was the final member to enter the room and closed the door behind him 

“Are you okay?” Annette asked giving her a concerned glance 

“I’m fine, I’m sorry for worrying everyone” Violet replies and place her hand on Annette’s shoulder, smiling when the orange haired woman covered her hand with her own 

“What’s all this?” Sylvain asked as Ingrid moved some of the paper to the side 

“To make sure you behave and pay attention” Violet joked earning herself a rare smirk from Felix

“Oh how lovely!” Mercedes cheered as she went and sat at her designated seat as the other members moved to their chairs as well

“I’ll take me leave” Violet bowed as Annette waved her goodbye as Violet began to leave the conference room

As she reached for the handle of the door, it began to creak open as the whole room went silent as to who had entered 

It was Dimitri

Violet and Dimitri just stared at each other, this was the first time they’d seen each other since the night before 

“You're leaving tomorrow, correct?” Violet broke the silence 

“Yes, at dawn” he replied 

“Then I wish you all a safe journey and well wishes for your mission” she said before excusing herself and leaving the room before giving Dimitri the chance to reply 

She had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really happy with how the part with Violet and Kathy turned out, I personally think it's really important to accept help from others
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, stay safe and WEAR A MASK please

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos appreciated. thank you for reading


End file.
